Automechanika Shanghai to take place Dec. 5-7 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center

Exhibitors from more than 24 countries and regions are heading for China and Automechanika Shanghai, one of the country's leading professional forums for automotive aftermarket parts. The international trade fair will take place Dec. 5-7 at the Shanghai New International Expo Center, and will feature 1,000 exhibitors in six exhibition halls — making it the largest Automechanika show ever held in China.

Countries that will be sending exhibitors to the show include Belgium, Brazil, China, Finland, Germany, Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Korea, Latvia, Malaysia, Mexico, the Netherlands, Poland, Russia, Singapore, Spain, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, the U.K. and the U.S.A. The fair also will feature the Automechanika Academy and the Match-Making Forum, as in previous years.

In addition, the trade fair will feature presentations by Messe Frankfurt to educate companies on ways to protect their products against piracy. According to the U.S. Federal Trade Commission, product piracy costs the automobile industry more than € 9 billion every year. The situation in China is critical, where unprecedented economic growth has brought about an unparalleled surge in various illegal activities, such as trademark infringement and the resulting risk to public health and safety.

"Our goal is to stress the importance of using genuine spare parts in regards to consumer and public safety, by demonstrating the serious risks and damage caused by counterfeited auto parts," says Joann Chan, aftersales new initiative and brand protection manager for General Motors in China. "The companies wish to promote the protection and development of intellectual property rights (IPR) in the automotive industry as a key element in consumer safety and in advocating an orderly and legal environment for business competition. We hope to increase public awareness of counterfeiting problems in the automotive industry, promote cooperation between companies, and actively assist the Chinese Government in eradicating counterfeiting and protecting each company's intellectual property rights."

Messe Frankfurt launched the large-scale "Messe Frankfurt Against Copying" campaign in January 2006 to provide information about protecting brands and products against piracy at exhibitions. Automechanika fairs around the world have been a major focus of the campaign, and Messe Frankfurt advises and supports all Automechanika exhibitors in the fight against product piracy. A special display stand will be set up at Automechanika Shanghai 2007, where visitors can find information about Messe Frankfurt's initiative, and exhibitors can go to seek legal advice from an IPR professional.

The Quality Brands Protection Committee (QBPC), under the China Association of Enterprises with Foreign Investment, has organised nine member companies of the Automotive Industry Working Group — Bosch, BMW, Chrysler, Daimler, Delphi, Ford, General Motors, Peugeot-Citroen, and Volkswagen — jointly with two other well known automotive parts manufacturers, Mann-Hummel and ZF, to participate in Automechanika Shanghai 2007. As one of the leading international events in China for the automotive manufacture and aftermarket industry, Automechanika in Shanghai guarantees that the QBPC's message will be heard by thousands of parts dealers and buyers from across the country.

Automechanika Shanghai is organised by Messe Frankfurt in partnership with the China National Automotive Industry International Corporation. For more information about the show, visit the group's Web site.