L’AGCM (Competition and Market Guarantor Authority) enters from behind in relation to DR Automobiles, guilty of having culpably deceived the consumer by passing off the cars of the EVO and DR brands as produced in Italy, when in this case they are made in China, and – together with the subsidiary DR Service & Parts Srl – did not guarantee a sufficient supply of spare parts , nor adequate after-sales assistance. For these reasons, two very heavy fines have been sent to DR Automobiles: 6 million euros in total. Massimo Di Risio’s company takes action and rejects the accusations.
The Antitrust charges
The viewfinderAntitrust entered the DR Automobiles area for deceptive commercial practices, in which untruthful messages and communications were disseminated by the company starting from December 2021, through various widely distributed channels. The object of the dispute is the production of the brands in Italy DR and EVO, cars produced in China and finished assembling in Italy. Starting from the end of 2021, the expansion of these vehicles in the Bel Paese began, following the communication strategy of “produced in Italy”, a factor that aroused more than doubt on the part of the Guarantor Authority.
Furthermore, the AGCM verified that both the subsidiary DR Service & Parts Srl and DR Automobiles Srl itself, starting from 2022, would not have offered and ensured an adequate supply of spare parts, as well as sufficient after-sales assistance , through the network of dealers and authorized workshops. At this point, both DR and Evo will have to communicate, within sixty days of notification of the provision, which initiatives they have carried out to terminate the conduct that is the subject of the dispute.
DR Automobiles doesn’t fit
Massimo Di Risiopresident of DR Automobiles, released a statement in which he lashes out against the AGCM’s provision: “Incredible!!! We fully contest the AGCM provision which we are about to challenge, confident of a total overturn. The company is solid and able to support even a possible, however unlikely, confirmation of the sanction. Let’s keep running, just as we are used to doing”.
In defense of their communication strategy, DR Automobiles lets it be known that the advertising campaigns of EVO and DR they never intended to advertise a claim of complete manufacturing of the cars in Italy and that important phases take place in Macchia d’Isernia in terms of research and development, design, planning, addition of functionality, finishing and completion of the cars marketed.
Finally, the Group also defends itself due to the lack of spare parts, bringing up the microchip crisis that had affected the entire automotive sector in recent years. We will see how the issue, which remains very thorny, will evolve.
