The Italian government has fined a car company $6.4m (£5m) for allegedly branding vehicles that were made in China as being produced in Italy.
DR Automobiles, a Southern Italy-based company, has been accused of misleading consumers by labeling cars as being made in Italy when they were actually mostly manufactured in China. The country’s competition regulator found that the company was using components from Chinese car makers Chery, BAIC, and JAC to assemble their vehicles.
Despite the fine, DR Automobiles has stated that they will appeal the decision, claiming that they never explicitly stated that their cars were entirely made in Italy. The regulator, however, has pointed out that only minor assembly and finishing work was done in Italy, with the majority of the production taking place in China.
This incident comes at a time when Italy and the European Union are cracking down on cars produced outside of the trading bloc. Just last month, Morocco-made Fiat Topolinos were seized in Italy for having Italian flag insignia, leading Fiat’s parent company Stellantis to remove the flags from the vehicles.
In addition, Alfa Romeo, another Italian brand under Stellantis, had to rename its new Poland-made Milano model to Junior following pressure from authorities. The EU has also threatened to impose import taxes of up to 38% on Chinese electric vehicles, citing them as a threat to the region’s motor industry.
China has responded by calling the tariffs a violation of international trade rules and accusing the investigation of being driven by “protectionism”. The US has also recently raised tariffs on Chinese electric cars from 25% to 100%. The automotive industry is facing increasing scrutiny and regulation as countries seek to protect their domestic markets and ensure transparency for consumers.
