Japanese car manufacturers are pooling resources to crack down on Chinese companies caught churning out fake car parts.

According to the far eastern news agency Kyodo News, a dozen instances of alleged copyright infringement have been uncovered in the last six months by the Chinese equivalent of the DTI.

These are said to have involved the production in Nanhai city, in southern China's Guangdong province, of windscreens and back mirrors carrying fake brand names of several Japanese carmakers, including Nissan and Toyota.

Of 3000 glass panels found in one warehouse, almost 1000 were confiscated after they were found to be counterfeit, Kyodo reports.

The agency says it is difficult to ascertain what the fake components have cost Japan's carmakers, which have been producing parts in China since 1990. The manufacturers are now preparing a united front to initiate criminal proceedings.