Multilingual Website for an Automotive Supplier in Milan: 2026 Cost and Timeline

The verdict in three sentences

For a 140-employee automotive supplier in Milan selling to France, Germany and Spain, a trilingual IT/EN/DE website costs €12,000 to €22,000 and takes 10 to 14 weeks, translation included. The spend that makes the difference is not design but technical translation at €0.12-0.18 per word and a subfolder architecture with correct hreflang, without which Google serves the wrong language to buyers in Stuttgart or Lyon. Regional and national export support schemes can cover a significant share of eligible costs, which brings the net cost closer to €8,000-14,000.

What a trilingual supplier website must include

OEM and Tier 1 buyers look for three things in under two minutes: your capabilities (processes, presses, tonnage, materials), your certifications and a sales contact per country. Candidates look for roles and working conditions. The site must serve both audiences without mixing them.

The IATF 16949 page is not just a logo: a buyer wants the certification date, the certifying body, the scope of sites and a downloadable PDF of the certificate. That detail often decides whether you enter a supplier panel.

Translation, hreflang and timelines: the cost drivers

For 25 base pages at about 600 words, that is 15,000 words, translating into two languages means 30,000 words. It is the most underestimated line in quotes.

A translation error on a tolerance, a material (DP600 steel loosely translated) or a standard undermines a supplier in front of a technical buyer. A validated glossary from your engineering team costs little and prevents these mistakes for the life of the site. Technically, every page must declare its equivalents in the other languages through hreflang tags, with an x-default version; a post-launch audit checks that all three versions are indexed.

Mini case study

Marco, sales director at a body parts supplier near Milan (illustrative persona), receives a €17,000 quote: €11,200 for the site, €4,900 for technical translation and €900 for the glossary. An export support scheme covers 50% of eligible costs, capped here at €7,000, which brings his net cost to €10,000.

A single new programme with a German Tier 1 represents roughly €450,000 of yearly revenue over a 5-year production life, at a 4% net margin, so €18,000 a year. If the trilingual site helps win one sourcing round, it pays for itself in under seven months of margin.

FAQ

What budget for a trilingual industrial website in 2026?

As an estimate, €12,000 to €22,000 for 20 to 30 pages in three languages, technical translation included. The range depends mostly on word count and the RFQ form.

Subdomains or subfolders for each language?

Subfolders (/it/, /en/, /de/) concentrate domain authority and are easier to manage. Combined with hreflang, they stop a Munich buyer from landing on the Italian version.

Is machine translation enough?

Not for technical pages: at €0.05/word it costs three times less, but errors on standards and materials cost far more. Review by a specialised translator at €0.12-0.18/word remains the norm.

Which schemes can fund the site?

Regional internationalisation calls and national export programmes can cover up to around 50% of eligible costs, depending on current caps. File the application before signing the quote, since costs incurred before approval are often excluded.

How long before we are visible in Germany?

Allow 3 to 6 months after launch for DE pages to rank on trade queries such as "Karosserieteile Zulieferer Italien". Monthly indexation monitoring per language lets you correct quickly.

Let's scope your project. Tell us the page count, target languages and the word volume to translate: we will send a priced scope, compatible with an export funding application, and a 10 to 14 week schedule. Detailed quote within 48 h. WhatsApp +221 77 596 93 33.