90% of Gyeonggi Province Residents Say They Will Use Certified Alternative Auto Parts

[Asia Economy (Suwon) = Reporter Lee Young-gyu] A survey found that 9 out of 10 Gyeonggi Province residents are willing to use certified alternative auto parts that have quality similar to genuine parts but are priced lower when repairing their cars.

Gyeonggi Province announced on the 12th the results of a 'Survey on Awareness of Alternative Auto Parts' conducted from the 26th to the 31st of last month, targeting 1,004 residents who have experience owning or repairing vehicles.

90% of respondents said they would be willing to use alternative parts if given the opportunity.

There was a strong perception that parts prices are expensive during vehicle repairs, with 82% for domestic parts and 89% for foreign parts.

When asked which they prefer between Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) parts and alternative parts, 78% chose OEM parts, while 17% selected alternative parts.

This was analyzed to be due to the perception that alternative parts, although cheaper, would have poor quality (55%).

Satisfaction after use was higher for OEM parts at 94%, compared to 80% for alternative parts.

Only 21% responded that they were aware of the certified alternative parts system. However, after an explanation of the system, 90% said they would be willing to try using certified alternative parts.

The alternative parts that respondents were willing to use included bumper products such as bumpers and moldings (64%), lighting parts such as headlights (63%), and body parts such as hoods (48%, multiple responses allowed).

As priority issues to promote the use of alternative parts, respondents cited securing quality and safety (83%), price reduction (47%), and quality assurance (41%, multiple responses allowed).

Gyeonggi Province has designated the 'Project to Protect Consumers' Right to Choose Parts When Repairing Vehicles' as one of the detailed tasks in the five-year basic plan for a fair economy and is working on alternatives such as awareness surveys and performance comparison investigations.

The certified alternative auto parts system, implemented in January 2015, is a system where a certification body verifies the performance and quality of alternative parts if their specifications or quality are the same or similar to genuine parts from vehicle manufacturers.

However, due to the supply system focused on genuine parts, lack of distribution channels, and a small market size, it has not been widely chosen by many consumers.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.