In a very strongly worded attack, Mercedes-Benz Australia has accused Australian car insurers of putting profit ahead of people’s safety.

Addressing Australian motoring media, Mercedes company spokesperson David McCarthy said, “Insurers are messing around with your life and everyone else's life, just to boost their bottom lines". He went on to suggest that the overwhelming majority of Australian insurers are encouraging the fitting of parts to cars that are counterfeit, that are deficient and are compromising the integrity of their safety. He also said insurers were only interested in repairing a car to look good, commenting, “They are not repairing the car for the next accident. And, quite frankly, they have blood on their hands. It is a really simply message."

The comments came at the start of a Mercedes Australian campaign to bring attention to the use of cheaper counterfeit parts by repairers. The company says insurers are condoning the use of the untested 'fake' parts and in many cases are pressurising repairers to use them. It pointed to some instances where OE aluminium bonnets had been replaced with steel, which would clearly affect accident and pedestrian safety. It also said fake electrical parts were often incompatible with on-board technology.

These strong words from David McCarthy do highlight an issue that is impacting on the accident repair business globally. Insurers in Ireland are also looking to cut parts costs and do have schemes in place for the use of non-genuine parts for repairs to older vehicles. There is of course a big difference between a quality aftermarket panel or component from a reputable manufacturer and the type of copy-cat fakes that appear to be a problem in Australia. With no sign of any agreements on industry wide quality standards, it remains up to the repairer to make the right judgement on what parts to fit and to avoid the type of corner cutting that has raised safety concerns in Australia.