Alfa Romeo changes the name of its Milan car after criticism from the Italian government

Italy’s Minister of Industry and Production Adolfo Urso criticized the name of the new model, saying that “a car called Milan cannot be produced in Poland.”

Car manufacturer Alfa Romeobelonging to a group Stellantisdecided to change the name of its latest model – Alfa Romeo Milanoto avoid dispute with the Italian governmentwho criticized the name chosen for creation link to Italian city when in fact the car will be produced in Poland.

Alfa Romeo Milano the first 100% electric car of the Italian brand and was unveiled on April 10 worldwide and will be launched in the market in the coming days. The Italian brand Stellantis (an automobile giant that arose as a result of the merger of groups Fiat-Chrysler And Peugeot-Citroen) announced that the electric city SUV will be produced in Polish city of Tychy.where other Stellantis models are also produced, such as jeep avenger And Fiat 600.

Name controversy

However, the Italian Minister of Industry and Production, Adolfo Ursocriticized Alfa Romeo’s decision, assuring that “A car called Milan cannot be produced in Poland” and that this is contrary to Italian law.

“This is prohibited by law, which since 2003 defines the “Italian sound” as There should be no indications that mislead the consumer.“he said, referring to the commercial phenomenon of using the name and image of Italy or Italian cities, to facilitate the sale of certain products.

“This will be false information clearly associated with geographical indications (with the city of Milan). A car called Milan should be made in Italy“, said the Italian Minister of Industry.

Made in Poland

In fact, Disputes between Stellantis and the Italian government have a long history.since the leader who now heads Georgia Meloni has been complaining to a group of Italian origin for many years investment in the transalpine country to increase car production (less than one million annual units), while Stellantis criticized government negotiations with Tesla and Chinese manufacturers cars in order to facilitate its implementation in the Italian country.

The CEO of Stellantis himself, Carlos Tavaresdefended Stellantis’ decision to produce the Alfa Romeo Milano in Poland, citing reasons production costs. According to the head of the company, producing the car in Italy would mean an additional cost of 10,000 euros. in the final selling price, so he could not compete with electric models arriving from China.

As Alfa Romeo explained in a statement, the name “Milan” was chosen after referendum pay homage to the city where the brand’s history began in 1910. Although Alpha believes that “the name meets all legal requirements”decided to change the name of the car to “avoid any dispute” And “in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding” with the Italian government.

Alfa Romeo Junior

A new name has been chosen for the electric city SUV, which will also have combustion engine and mild hybridization versions. Alfa Romeo Juniorwhich was also one of the crowd’s favorites in the list of names chosen by the company for the new model.

“We decided to change the name, although we know that we are not obliged to do so.because we want to maintain the positive emotions that our products have always evoked and avoid any controversy,” said the Alfa Romeo CEO. Jean-Philippe Imparato. “The choice of the Junior name is completely natural as it is closely linked to the history of the brand and has been among our and the public’s favorites from the very beginning,” the manager added.

“We celebrate the decision made by the company change the name of the car from Milano to Junior in light of recent news that may affect the enthusiasm and great attention that the new car has recently received from our customers,” said Romeo, President of the Italian Alfa Dealer Association, Stefano Odorici.

This is not the first time Alfa Romeo has asked the public for its opinion when choosing a car name. This was previously done in 1966 with Spider 1600 when the public chose the name Duetto. “Junior, like Milano, are beautiful names. which are rooted in the history of the brand. It’s no coincidence that they immediately became the public’s favorites,” he explained. Odorichi.