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9 September 2019TrademarksSaman Javed

Hyundai targets grey market car parts in trademark suit

Hyundai has filed a trademark infringement suit against a car parts retailer that is allegedly distributing grey market parts intended for foreign markets in the US.

In its complaint, filed Friday September 6 at the US District Court for the Central District of California, Hyundai said Pentius Automotive Parts was illegally selling car parts in the US which are not part of Hyundai’s authorised chain of distribution.

Hyundai also accused Pentius of false advertising, alleging that Pantius is falsely describing its grey market goods as “genuine” Hyundai parts.

Hyundai Motor America, which is the exclusive distributor of Hyundai-branded cars and car parts in the country, makes parts to “precise specifications that meet federal motor vehicle safety standards”.

But this is not the case for Hyundai-branded parts intended for sale in foreign markets outside the US, the car maker said.

“Hyundai-branded parts that are not sourced through its authorised chain of distribution may contain numerous material differences compared to authorised Hyundai parts,” the filing said.

These include differences in language on packaging and labelling, production methods, weight, performance statistics, manufacturing processes and differences in safety standards and quality controls.

Hyundai said that because of these differences if an illegal grey market part is used during the repair or servicing of Hyundai vehicles, performance or safety issues could arise.

Such parts may also be “seconds,” defective parts, rejected parts, or even counterfeit parts, the filing said.

Additionally, Hyundai said Pentius leads consumers to believe its parts are covered by Hyundai’s warranties.

“In fact, one of Pentius’ own former salespeople has admitted in another litigation that he understood that Hyundai’s warranty would not apply to the illegal grey market Hyundai parts being sold by Pentius, yet Pentius has failed to convey these facts to its customers,” the filing said.

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