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Fake Honda engines to be destroyed
[October 09, 2007]

Fake Honda engines to be destroyed


(Business World (Philippines) Via Thomson Dialog NewsEdge) Honda Philippines, Inc. will destroy 22 units of fake general purpose engines today in line with its campaign against the proliferation of Chinese imports, which are allegedly copying the Honda brand and technology trademarks.



The destruction of counterfeit engines will be conducted in Bacolod City where Honda found two establishments selling Honda engine look-alikes.

Businessman Jose Zulueta also owns another store in Iloilo selling the same fake products.


Honda legal counsel Editha Hechanova said genuine Honda engines made in Thailand and Japan bear only the name "Honda," while counterfeits coming from China are branded "Honda Technology."

Buyers are often confused as both engines, used primarily for motorboats and motorbikes, bear the same color and design.

Honda Philippines and its Japan-based parent firm Honda Motor Co. Ltd. said the legal distributors of genuine Honda engines have been losing clients since the entry of Chinese "copies" in the local market.

Citing figures based on an earlier infringement case won by Honda against distributors of fake general purpose engines, Ms. Hechanova said the company has been losing at least P3 million annually due to unfair competition.

Honda has sold over 200,000 units of GX160 and GX200 engines since it entered the market in 1995.

When Chinese engines entered the market in 2001, unit sales of the GX160 dropped 71%, while GX200 sales fell 37%.

Copyright 2007 Business World Publishing Corporation, Source: The Financial Times Limited

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