SANY Group Strikes Hard Against Used Market Counterfeiting and "Reconditioned" Excavator Scams

As a pioneer in the construction machinery industry, SANY Group has always treated intellectual property protection as a top priority. In a recent high-profile case, SANY, together with Chinese law enforcement authorities, successfully dismantled a large-scale, organized trademark infringement and counterfeiting operation - reinforcing market order and protecting buyer rights.

The Rise of "Like-New" Scams on Livestream Platforms

Starting in early 2025, numerous online accounts across Chinese social media platforms began promoting "like-new" excavators at suspiciously low prices. The machines featured in these videos looked spotless - often filmed with dramatic scenes of "foreign buyers rushing to purchase." Prices were less than half of a genuine new machine, with sellers claiming these were "ex-display units," "dealer stock," or "low-hour machines."

Behind the polished sales pitch, however, was a carefully orchestrated deception.

A typical used machinery market in China

SANY's internal investigation team conducted undercover inspections and found serious issues among nearly a thousand used excavators at a major second-hand equipment market. A large number of machines labelled as "SANY" had been expertly cosmetically restored - but closer inspection revealed they were actually patched-together hybrids, fundamentally different from genuine SANY products in key structures and configurations. Meanwhile, livestream hosts were enthusiastically claiming "original factory paint" and "100% authentic - or your money back."

A Coordinated Crackdown on the Entire Chain

In response to the blatant infringement and consumer fraud, SANY's legal team gathered evidence alongside its business units and filed a formal complaint with the authorities. Law enforcement responded swiftly with a coordinated operation involving over 30 officers from the police and market regulators. At the scene, they seized more than 30 suspected counterfeit excavators and opened cases against over a dozen sales ringleaders.

Over the following months, investigators spanned five provinces and successfully dismantled the entire production-assembly-sales chain, apprehending multiple suspects.

Seized machines at the raid site

The Ugly Truth: How "Beauty Treatments" Hide Real Dangers

As the investigation deepened, a shocking grey-market supply chain came to light.

The so-called "like-new" machines were actually reconstructed from scrap-grade equipment - through bodywork repairs, full repainting, parts swaps, tampered hour meters, and counterfeit decals and nameplates.

In one seized unit, the exterior displayed a "China IV" emission label, but the body was a copy of an older "China III" model, and the engine inside was actually a decade-old "China II" unit with over 10,000 genuine hours - while the tampered dashboard showed less than 200 hours.

Such machines come with no genuine warranty. Due to aged components and poor workmanship, they break down frequently, incurring high repair costs - often becoming disposable after a short period. Local consumer protection agencies have received numerous complaints about these products. More alarmingly, they use scrapped parts without proper safety certification, posing serious risks of equipment failure and endangering workers on site.

Protecting Innovation: Results and a Call for Vigilance

To date, with sustained law enforcement efforts and SANY's active cooperation, the prevalence of counterfeit and illegally reconditioned SANY-branded excavators in the affected regions has been significantly curbed. Judicial authorities have treated these IP infringements and market disruptions with severity: four individuals have already been sentenced, with nearly 20 more currently standing trial.

SANY Group urges buyers to always verify machine authenticity through official channels and remain vigilant against deals that seem too good to be true. Genuine quality comes with genuine accountability.