The tug-of-war between the Italian Government and Stellantis has now seen a new episode, after the Italian executive forced Alfa Romeo to change the name of the brand’s new SUV, from Milano to Junior, considering that the first fully electric vehicle from Alfa Romeo used an Italian name in a model produced outside of Italy.
Now it was the turn of the Italian tax authorities to seize about 140 units of the Fiat Topolino, the new quadricycle from the Italian brand, for using the Italian flag next to the door handle. All because the model is produced in Morocco and not in Italy. A spokesperson for Stellantis has confirmed the seizure, which made headlines in the Italian media.
The government led by Giorgia Meloni is in disagreement with Stellantis following plans to cut jobs in the country and transfer production to lower-cost countries.
“To resolve all issues, it was decided to intervene in the impounded vehicles by removing the small stickers with authorization from the authorities”, explained a spokesperson for Stellantis, in statements to Shy Italy. “The sticker in question had the sole purpose of indicating the corporate origin of the product”, specified, “in fact, the design of the new Topolino, which is a historic Fiat model since 1936, was conceived and developed in Turin”. Furthermore, Stellantis continues, “since the presentation of the new model, the company has always been clear in stating that it is manufactured in Morocco. Therefore, we believe that we operate in total compliance with regulations, transparently communicating the country of production of Topolino, without any deceptive intention towards consumers”.
