Cirelli Motor Company

Cirelli Motor Company is an Italian automobile company established in 2023 by Paolo Daniele Cirelli. It operates primarily as an importer, vehicle rebranding business and modifier rather than as a conventional automaker developing a wholly original vehicle platform. The company sources vehicles from Chinese manufacturers, markets them under Cirelli model names and makes modifications intended to allow selected vehicles to operate on liquefied petroleum gas (LPG). The company’s background is connected to the Cirelli family’s activities in aftermarket LPG-system installation, automobile dealerships and motorsport. That heritage provides the basis for Cirelli’s emphasis on alternative-fuel conversion and distribution. Its business model combines imported Chinese vehicle architectures with local branding and fuel-system adaptation, positioning the company within Italy’s highly competitive market for affordable passenger cars and sport utility vehicles. Cirelli’s model range has included vehicles derived from products associated with SWM, Beijing, Fengon, Forthing and Dongfeng. The portfolio spans compact sport utility vehicles, larger utility-oriented vehicles, a multi-purpose vehicle and a pickup. Model names such as Cirelli 1, Cirelli 2 and Cirelli 3zero3 identify the company’s rebadged offerings, while the underlying donor vehicles include the SWM Tiger, Beijing X3, SWM G01, Fengon 580, Beijing Mofang, Forthing T5 Evo, SWM G05, Forthing U-Tour, Dongfeng Rich 6 and Forthing T5. Cirelli attracted industry attention in 2024 through a dispute with DR Automobiles concerning the purported exclusive importation of BAIC Motor vehicles into Italy. The dispute illustrates the competitive and sometimes contested nature of Chinese-vehicle distribution arrangements in the Italian market. Available reference material does not establish a final legal outcome or provide evidence of a broader corporate group, public listing or international operating footprint. Cirelli is therefore best characterized as a young Italian automotive importer and rebadging company whose identity is closely tied to LPG-compatible mobility and the distribution of Chinese-built vehicles.

Cirelli Motor Company was founded in Italy in 2023 by Paolo Daniele Cirelli. The company emerged from a family business background associated with aftermarket LPG-system installation, automobile dealerships and motorsport. Rather than beginning with an independently engineered vehicle platform, Cirelli adopted an importer-and-converter model: it brought Chinese automobiles into the Italian market, sold them under Cirelli branding and modified them to support operation on liquefied petroleum gas. This approach reflects two elements of the company’s identity. First, Cirelli participates in the expansion of Chinese automotive brands and vehicle designs in Italy through local distribution and rebadging. Second, its family background in LPG installation gives the company a specific technical and commercial orientation toward vehicles using LPG as an alternative fuel. The available reference material does not describe the scale of its manufacturing facilities, dealer network, production volumes or export operations, so Cirelli is more accurately understood as an automotive importer and modifier than as a mass-production manufacturer. The company’s catalogue has drawn from several Chinese manufacturers and nameplates. The Cirelli 1 is based on the SWM Tiger, while the Cirelli 2 derives from the Beijing X3. The Cirelli 3 uses the SWM G01 as its underlying vehicle. The Cirelli 4 has been associated with the Fengon 580 from 2024 onward and with the Beijing Mofang during the earlier 2021–2024 period stated in the reference material. Other offerings include the Cirelli 5, based on the Forthing T5 Evo; the Cirelli 6, based on the SWM G05; the Cirelli 7, based on the Forthing U-Tour; the Cirelli 8, based on the Dongfeng Rich 6 pickup; and the Cirelli 3zero3, based on the Forthing T5. In 2024, Cirelli became involved in a dispute with DR Automobiles regarding the purported exclusive importation of BAIC Motor vehicles into Italy. The matter is significant because it concerns the commercial rights and distribution relationships that underpin the entry of Chinese vehicles into the Italian market. The available source identifies the dispute but does not establish its final legal or commercial outcome. Cirelli remains a young automotive company with a product identity built around imported Chinese vehicles, Italian-market branding and LPG-related modification. Publicly available reference material does not provide sufficient information to document later ownership changes, financial performance, senior management beyond the founder, or a confirmed international expansion strategy.

• 2024

  Distribution dispute involving BAIC vehicles

  [1]Cirelli Motor Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Cirelli entered a dispute with DR Automobiles over the purported exclusive importation of BAIC Motor vehicles into Italy.

• 2023

  Company founded

  [1]Cirelli Motor Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Paolo Daniele Cirelli founded Cirelli Motor Company in Italy, building on a family background in LPG installations, dealerships and motorsport.

An Italian importer and vehicle modifier focused on Chinese-built automobiles, local rebadging and LPG-compatible mobility.

• Sport utility vehicle

  Cirelli 1

  A Cirelli-branded vehicle based on the SWM Tiger. It represents the company’s practice of importing a Chinese vehicle, applying its own model identity and offering local-market modifications associated with LPG operation.

• Sport utility vehicle

  Cirelli 2

  A rebadged version of the Beijing X3. The model forms part of Cirelli’s compact Chinese-vehicle portfolio for the Italian market.

• Sport utility vehicle

  Cirelli 3

  A Cirelli-branded adaptation of the SWM G01. It follows the company’s importer and rebadging format and is associated with LPG-oriented vehicle modification.

• Sport utility vehicle · 2024

  Cirelli 4

  A larger Cirelli offering associated with the Fengon 580 from 2024 onward and with the Beijing Mofang during the 2021–2024 period identified in the reference material.

• Sport utility vehicle

  Cirelli 5

  A Cirelli-branded vehicle based on the Forthing T5 Evo. It extends the company’s range of imported Chinese utility vehicles.

• Sport utility vehicle

  Cirelli 6

  A rebadged version of the SWM G05, included in Cirelli’s range of Chinese-sourced vehicles adapted for the Italian market.

• Multi-purpose vehicle

  Cirelli 7

  A Cirelli-branded version of the Forthing U-Tour. The model broadens the range beyond conventional sport utility vehicles into larger passenger and family-oriented transport.

• Pickup truck

  Cirelli 8

  A Cirelli-branded pickup based on the Dongfeng Rich 6. It is the clearest utility-focused model listed in the company’s reference range.

• Sport utility vehicle

  Cirelli 3zero3

  A Cirelli model based on the Forthing T5. Its separate 3zero3 designation distinguishes it from the company’s numbered model names.

• 2024

  Defended or asserted BAIC import-distribution position in ItalyOther

  Background

  Cirelli became involved in a dispute with DR Automobiles concerning the purported exclusive importation of BAIC Motor vehicles into Italy.

  Action taken

  The available reference records Cirelli’s involvement in the distribution dispute but does not describe a confirmed settlement, court judgment or final commercial arrangement.

  Aftermath

  The ultimate outcome is not established by the available source material.

  • DR Automobiles — DR Automobiles was the opposing party in the dispute over purported BAIC import exclusivity; the available reference does not provide a detailed statement of its position.

  Source

• 2024

  Cirelli enters dispute with DR Automobiles over purported BAIC import exclusivity[1]Cirelli Motor Companyen.wikipedia.org

  Lawsuit · Other

  Cirelli Motor Company became involved in a dispute with DR Automobiles concerning the purported exclusive importation of BAIC Motor vehicles into Italy. The available reference does not specify the final resolution.

1. 1Cirelli Motor Companyen.wikipedia.org