Italian carmaker Alfa Romeo has been forced to involuntarily rebrand one of its new electric cars after facing legal threats from the Italian government over the use of an ‘Italian-sounding name’ for its Polish-built model.
The 113-year-old carmaker launched its mini SUV, the Milano, last week, describing it as ‘Italian at first glance’.
But the Stellantis-owned group quickly found itself in the crosshairs of the Italian government for its seemingly hollow claims of patriotism. The Milano was the first Alfa Romeo car to be built entirely outside Italy, originating from the automaker’s Tychy production plant in Poland.
‘The name Milano is not okay? Junior then!’
“A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland. This is prohibited by Italian law,” Italian Industry Minister Adolfo Urso said last week Reuters.
Urso was referring to 2003 legislation aimed at banning the use of the Italian flag, boot and other distinctive Italian expressions for products not made in Italy. In 2012, the EU learned that this was causing €60 billion in alleged fraud every year.
“This law stipulates that you may not give instructions that mislead consumers. A car called Milano must therefore be produced in Italy. Otherwise it gives a misleading indication that is not permitted under Italian law,” Urso said.
The automaker said it consulted the public before landing on the name Milano, which is a hat tip to the city of Milan where the group was founded in 1910.
Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said the attention the group received after the announcement and the subsequent political uproar even caused the company’s website to crash for a few hours.
Now the £36,000 ($38,300) EV will be named Alfa Romeo Junior, in an attempt to calm an anxious Italian government that has seen its fair share of cultural battles during its 17 months in power.
In a press release entitled: “The name Milano is not okay? Junior then!” Alfa Romeo said last week was one of the most important weeks for the carmaker’s future.
“Despite Alfa Romeo believing that the name meets all legal requirements and that there are things much more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change it from Milano to Junior in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding,” the spokesperson said. group wrote.
Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said at a press conference that the move was taken to “ease relations with the Italian government”. Reuters reported.
Relations between the Italian government and Alfa Romeo’s parent company Stellantis, which also makes Fiat and Peugeot, have been frosty for months.
In February, BYD said it had been asked by the government to set up production facilities in the country as part of efforts to create a second car maker alongside Stellantis.
The unusual rapprochement with BYD was in response to Stellantis’ plans to move production abroad, as it had done with the Milano car.
Meloni’s government bites back
The Italian government, led by the right-wing Brothers of Italy party and Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni, has faced many cultural problems since taking power in October 2022.
These actions, which revolve around a belief in protecting both Italian culture and industry, have led to it making enemies everywhere from car manufacturers to fake meat suppliers.
In November, the Italian government even banned the production of lab-grown meat, in addition to using meat-based names to promote vegetarian products, including ‘tofu steak’.
Those who break the rules could face fines of more than $160,000.