Counterfeit auto parts cost Ford Motor Co. a staggering $1 billion annually, which has spurred the Dearborn automaker to mount an aggressive campaign worldwide to attack the problem.
The auto parts industry estimates counterfeit parts have become a $12 billion problem worldwide, with $3 billion in phony auto parts sold in the United States alone.
Ford's disclosure of the extent of its counterfeiting problems -- part of a U.S. Chamber of Commerce study that will be released Wednesday -- is the first by an automaker to give a specific figure on losses due to counterfeit and pirated parts.
"That figure is probably light," Joe Wiegand, Ford's global brand protection manager, said in an interview Friday.
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