Tag Archives: DR Automobiles

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Itala Returns After 92 Years as DR Automobiles

Few revival stories in the automotive world arrive with as much historical weight—and modern contradiction—as the return of Itala. A brand once associated with early Italian prestige has been resurrected after 92 years of silence, now re-entering the market under the engineering oversight of former Roberto Fedeli.

But this is not a simple heritage reboot. It is part of a far more complex industrial expansion led by DR Automobiles, a company that has spent the past two decades building its business model around adapting Chinese-sourced vehicles for European markets. With six brands already in its portfolio and roughly 34,000 cars sold across Italy and select neighboring markets last year, DR is now pushing beyond its home turf, setting its sights on larger and far more competitive territories like France and Germany.

Heritage, Rewritten

The revived Itala sits within DR’s “Historic Italian Brands” strategy—a deliberate attempt to fuse nostalgic brand equity with modern, cost-efficient manufacturing pipelines. Alongside Itala, DR is also preparing to relaunch Osca, a name originally founded by the Maserati brothers and once active in motorsport between 1947 and 1967.

The plan is as pragmatic as it is ambitious: both brands will share showroom space, effectively leveraging history as a dual-badging showroom experience aimed at emotionally anchoring budget-conscious products.

The First Modern Itala

Debuting this week at the Turin motor show, the first modern Itala is called the 35—a 4.4-meter petrol-powered crossover that underpins its engineering architecture on the GAC Trumpchi GS3. Pricing is expected to start at around €35,000 (£30,000), placing it squarely in the highly contested European compact SUV segment.

Yet DR is not simply importing and rebadging without intervention. Italian media reports suggest a multi-layered refinement program: Fedeli has reportedly tuned the suspension setup, while interior execution has been reworked by Italian suppliers, with red leather and Alcantara dominating the cabin. Exterior styling has also been revised, with design input attributed to Italdesign—a name that carries genuine weight in global automotive styling circles.

The result, at least on paper, is a familiar formula executed with Italian surface finesse: global architecture beneath, local tuning on top, and heritage branding wrapped around the package.

Expansion at Scale

Under the same strategy, DR is investing approximately €50 million into two new “production facilities” at its Macchia d’Isernia plant, where it already assembles knock-down kits sourced from China. The expansion is expected to create around 500 jobs, reinforcing DR’s increasingly industrial footprint in southern Italy.

The timing is no accident. As European emissions regulations tighten and development costs rise, DR’s model—lean platforms, localized assembly, and brand resurrection—sits in a growing niche between mainstream volume manufacturers and premium incumbents.

What Comes Next

If Itala represents the first step, Osca may represent the sharper end of the strategy. While no production model has yet been confirmed, Italian reports suggest a “proper sports car” is under consideration, potentially featuring a 2.0-litre engine sourced from Lotus-related architecture—possibly aligning with the turbocharged four-cylinder used in the current Emira’s Mercedes-AMG-derived setup.

For now, however, DR is focused on rollout infrastructure. Around 50 Itala-Osca dealerships are planned, with the first opening in Turin—the original home of Itala itself. It is a symbolic return, but also a strategic one: anchoring a revived brand network in the city where its identity was first forged.

A Familiar Modern Paradox

The rebirth of Itala is not a pure heritage story, nor is it a conventional product launch. It sits in the increasingly common space where globalized platforms, Chinese supply chains, and European branding intersect.

The question, as always, is not whether the story is authentic—but whether the product behind the badge is compelling enough to make buyers care.

And in today’s European market, that may be the only metric that truly matters.

Source: Autocar

News

Italy fined DR Automobiles with 6 million euros

In October 2023, the Italian government launched an investigation against DR Automobiles for misleading customers about the origin of its cars. Eight months later, the Italian government decided to fine the company with 6 million euros, although the company claims that the accusation is unfounded.

DR Automobiles have established a simple system of processing Chinese cars with refined Italian design and partly buying selected European technology. The result is affordable SUV models, and the slogan “Una storia Italiana” itself is part of finely packaged marketing combined with patriotism, trying to hide the origin of the vehicle. The regulator stated that the vehicles, which are sold under the brands DR and EVO, are promoted as Italian products, but are mostly of Chinese origin. Only a small part of assembly and finishing works is done in Italy. “This practice coincides with the period in which the company recorded a significant increase in sales of DR and EVO vehicles on the Italian market,” the statement said.

This decision comes at a time of increased tensions between the EU and China, all because of the privileged position of electric vehicles produced in China due to subsidies. The EU launched an investigation that showed that the Chinese government subsidized cars exported to Europe in various ways, and in response the EU is considering the introduction of additional tariffs (38%).

The EU is not the only one that has introduced additional tariffs on Chinese vehicles. Turkey did the same with additional tariffs of 40% on Chinese cars, and the United States did it before them. The United States raised the tariff rate on imported cars from China from 25% to 100%. Of course, such decisions were condemned by the Chinese authorities, who announced countermeasures to protect their interests.

Source: Reuters

News

DR Automobiles under investigation by Italian authorities

While the EU is investigating carmakers for Chinese subsidies, a small Italian company, DR Automobiles, is under investigation by authorities for misleading customers about the origin of its cars.

DR Automobiles was founded in 2006 by Massimo Di Risio and sells cars from Chinese automakers BAIC, Chery Automobile and JAC Motors under its badge. Well, here’s how they do it. They have established a simple system of processing Chinese cars with refined Italian design and partly buying selected European technology. The result is affordable SUV models, and the slogan “Una storia Italiana” itself is part of finely packaged marketing combined with patriotism, trying to hide the origin of the vehicle.

One of the brands whose cars DR Automobiles sells is EVO, and so far around 24,200 vehicles have been sold in Italy in the first nine months of 2023, which is 48 percent more compared to the same period in 2022. That’s a market share of two percent. It’s not a big number, but the affordable prices and attractive design of these cars threaten the competition and take customers not only from domestic but also from some foreign brands such as Honda, Suzuki and Mitsubishi.

Last Thursday, the Italian Competition Authority (AGCM) and the Italian tax police conducted an inspection at the headquarters of DR Automobiles and its parent company Donington, the statement said. The “sin” of the company is that it hid information about the country of origin of some of the models. “In some cases, they would omit relevant information about the origin of the cars, suggesting that they were entirely manufactured in Italy, while the vehicles appear to be Chinese-made,” AGCM said in a statement. Representatives from DR Automobile have not commented on this case for now.

Source: Reuters

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DR Automobiles under investigation by Italian authorities