Europeans have to contend not only with Beijing’s massive subsidies for EV manufacturers, which stand in the way of the European auto industry, but also with European EV fraudsters.
As the BBC reported, the Italian government fined a car company €6.4 million for allegedly “baptizing” cars made in China as Italian-made.
DR Automobiles misled consumers by claiming that the cars were made in Italy, even though they were mainly made in China, according to the country’s competition regulator.
The company said it would appeal the fine, as it claims it never claimed its cars were entirely Italian-made.
It’s just collecting
DR Automobiles, based in southern Italy, assembles low-cost cars using components produced by Chinese automakers Chery, BAIC and JAC.
The company’s DR and EVO-branded cars are sold as Italian-made but have their roots mostly in China, the regulator said.
It was emphasized that only minor assembly and finishing work was carried out in Italy.
The authority added: “This practice coincided with the period in which the company recorded a significant increase in sales of DR and EVO vehicles in the Italian market.”
Spare parts shortage
The regulator also said that the company’s DR Service & Parts unit did not provide adequate supply of spare parts and after-sales service, which may violate consumer rights. The fine also covered this shortfall, Automotive News Europe wrote.
The company and its parts unit have been given 60 days to communicate steps taken to address the issues identified by the authority.
DR claimed it was affected by supply chain disruption post-pandemic, but the situation has now improved, with average delivery times for parts just over two days.
This decision taken by the Italian regulatory authority comes in light of the general efforts made by the European Union to deal with the competition that the European industry faces from cars manufactured in third countries.
Similar tricks from Fiat
Last month, dozens of Moroccan-made Fiat Topolinos were seized in the Italian port of Livorno for having Italian-made decals, that is, Italian flags.
Stellantis, Fiat’s parent company, claimed it followed the regulations, but has since removed the specified badges from vehicles.
Last week, the European Union announced tariffs of up to 38% on Chinese electric cars after politicians described them as a threat to the European auto industry due to the competitive prices they charge thanks to the huge government subsidies they enjoy in China.
These duties will be added to the current rate of 10% imposed on all Chinese electric vehicle imports into the European Union.
In response, Chinese officials said the tariffs violated international trade rules and described them as “protectionism” on the part of the European Union.
source: ot.gr
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