The Italian government has fined a car company $6.4m for allegedly branding vehicles that were made in China as being produced in Italy.

According to BBC News, DR Automobiles marketed cars as being completely manufactured in Italy, even though they were mostly made in China, the country's competition regulator said, a charge the automobile seller denies.

The regulator said cars under the company's DR and EVO brands were sold as being Italian-made, but only minor assembly and finishing work was carried out in Italy.

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The news comes as Italy and the European Union as a whole are cracking down on cars produced outside the trading bloc. In May, dozens of Morocco-made Fiat Topolinos were seized in the Italian port of Livorno because they had Italian flag insignia. Fiat's parent company Stellantis said it had followed regulations, but has since removed the insignias.

In April, Alfa Romeo, which is another Italian brand under Stellantis, decided to rename its new, Poland-made Milano model as Junior following pressure from authorities.