The “work harder for longer” message is aimed at Mercedes-Benz van owners and repairers in the UK.
The message highlights the durability of the parts and the reduced time the van operator will spend off the road, but it also carries a safety warning.
In December, Mercedes-Benz Australia-Pacific supported a Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI) website that showed the safety differences between genuine and non-genuine parts.
It said that “forgeries in the automotive industry are thought to be increasing by nine to 11 per cent” each year.
“(That is) a dangerous development, since the replacement parts copied are increasingly relevant to the vehicle safety: filters, brake pads, windshields and steering columns are amongst the most frequently confiscated counterfeit products,” the warning said.
“At first sight, genuine and counterfeit replacement parts may appear virtually identical, but key differences may have serious consequences when it comes to safety.”
More information on the perils of counterfeit parts can be found on the FCAI website genuineisbest.com.au, which covers other brands as well as Mercedes-Benz.
Mercedes-Benz uses the example of its engineers in Germany spending four years “crafting the perfect braking system for Mercedes-Benz vans”.
“Independent tests prove that Mercedes-B
enz brake pads work harder for longer, proving more resistant to wear and maintaining their friction coefficient better than the competition.
“The business benefit? Safer brakes that need replacing less often,” Mercedes-Benz said.
Mercedes-Benz said the benefits of buying genuine parts are:
- A two-year unlimited mileage warranty including labour, which it said is double the warranty of most non-original equipment (OE) parts
- Reduced labour time because the genuine parts are faster and easier to fit
- Technically superior products that are the result of the company’s $9 billion annual research and development budget.
By Neil Dowling
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