Counterfeit Honda scooters attacking domestic market
The designs and colours of the counterfeit Honda scooter models (Spacy, SCR, Air Blade) are not really different than the real products being sold on the market for VND40-100 million. The scooters are advertised as having parts imported from Taiwan and assembled in Vietnam.
The products prove to be more attractive as the sellers offer a 3-year maintenance warranty and promise to send staffs to fix problems if the scooters break down. Buyers will get new scooters from sellers if the products they purchase turn out to have technical problems.
The counterfeit Honda scooters have flocked to HCM City. A rented flat at Lam Son residential quarter on Nguyen Oanh road in Go Vap district in HCM City has been advertised as a sales agent of the cheap scooters.
The sales agent has advertised in newspapers that it sells a counterfeit Honda Air Blade at VND42 million, a Victoria VND9 million, and Nouvo Yamaha VND6 million.
In a statement released on May 13, Honda Vietnam affirmed that a shop at No 135 Nguyen Tuan purporting to be a dealer does not belong to the system of Honda authorised sales agents.
Koji Onishi, General Director of Honda Vietnam, said that in Vietnam, only Honda Vietnam is authorised by Japan’s Honda to make Honda motorbikes. All products made by Honda Vietnam are distributed through its system of authorised dealers.
He said that Honda Vietnam will work with Japanese Honda Motor and legal agencies on measures to prevent the copyright infringement in case a third party assembles scooters, imitating the Honda brand name.
Trinh Ngoc Giao, Head of the Vietnam Registration Administration, affirmed that no counterfeit Honda scooters have got certificates from the agency.
According to Hoang Cong Son, Deputy Head of the 3A Market Management Team under the HCM City Market Management Taskforce, the resolution of the case of the counterfeit goods needs to follow procedures. The company which owns the trademarks which are being imitated needs to send documents to violators, asking them to stop the violations. If the violators refuse to do that, the company can file a claim with the Market Management Taskforce, police and inspection agencies. Only after receiving claims can relevant agencies investigate.
