[RahulNagaraj]

Alfa Romeo recently unveiled its first mass-market electric SUV, the Milano - named after the famous city of Milan, Italy.

However, the Italian government has now announced that the name is illegal. The country's government has stated that since the car will be built in Poland, it can't sound Italian. Alfa Romeo is an iconic Italian brand but is now owned by Stellantis. The conglomerate has been at odds with the government for months, stating its displeasure towards the lack of support for EV adoption and also not supporting home-grown brands like Alfa Romeo and Fiat.



However, the Italian government retaliated saying that moving the production out of the country was a step too far. Adolfo Urso, Italy's Industry Minister, even slammed Stellantis' decision to build the EV in Poland. The Milano will be the first Alfa Romeo to be built entirely outside of Italy, and if the vehicle isn't built in Italy, it can't have an Italian-sounding name.

Urso, stated, "A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland. This is forbidden by Italian law." She added, "This law stipulates that you cannot give indications that mislead consumers. So a car called Milano must be produced in Italy. Otherwise, it gives a misleading indication which is not allowed under Italian law." Urso is referring to the law set in 2003 that prohibits any product not built in Italy from having an Italian-sounding name.

The Alfa Romeo is built on Stellantis' e-CMP platform, which also underpins the Jeep Avenger. According to Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, producing the Alfa Romeo Milano in Poland helps the brand shave off 10,000 euros from its retail price.

Source: Electrek

Link to Team-BHP news

[ExtremePocca]

Probably the first ugly Alfa Romeo. If companies keep doing this, customers will subconsciously correlate ugly cars and EVs. Manufacturers are losing an older consumer-base who have more conservative and mature taste with these whacky abominations.

[Jeroen]

There is no such law in Italy that forbids this. There are some laws about not misleading the consumer. Whether this is such a case is very much up to debate.

As far as I know MGs are for sale in Italy. I did not hear anybody complain about the fact that this is a Chinese outfit, that bought the rights to use the MG brand.

What about the Ferrari California or Ferrari Daytona. I don’t think Enzo had those build in the USA either.

The Kia Sorento, named after the Italian town of Sorento, is not build in Italy either.

The list of cars with names of cities where they were never built numbers into several dozen!

Hyandai Santa Fe

Bentley Mulsanne

Etc. Etc.

All of these cars are for sale in Italy and are bought by Italians. Without suing the manufacturer over the naming convention.

This is just a case of some mental Alfisti. Mind you Alfisit are mostly mental as by and large Alfa’s are not particularly well made cars. Ask me how I know!

Jeroen

[volkman10]

Italian Government Forces Alfa Romeo to Change Name of Milano SUV to 'Junior'

Following pressure from the Italian government, Alfa Romeo has decided to change the name of its newly unveiled SUV.

In what's been a rollercoaster week for Alfa Romeo, the company announced Monday it will change the name of its newly unveiled Milano SUV to "Junior" following pressure from the Italian government.

Like Milano, Junior is another nameplate revival. Perhaps more fitting to the small, entry-level crossover, Junior was originally used by Alfa Romeo as a trim level in the mid-1960s to refer to its base-model 105- and 115-series Giulia coupes.


Link:

[volkman10]

Alfa Romeo Milano renamed Junior, and jokingly thanked the Italian government for the free publicity.











Link:

[GeeTee TSI]

Did the Italian government kick up a fuss because it was an Italian marque at the centre of it all? None of the alternative examples seem to be an Italian brand. It's quite baffling but I am unable take a stand on who was right here!

[Jeroen]

Originally Posted by GeeTee TSI

Did the Italian government kick up a fuss because it was an Italian marque at the centre of it all? None of the alternative examples seem to be an Italian brand. It's quite baffling but I am unable take a stand on who was right here!

It’s not so much about right or wrong. It is the Italian government being pissed off as Alfa Romeo starts production of a new car outside Italy!

So it’s just politics

Jeroen

[volkman10]

They are all SUVs and they all wear the same badge.

The Stelvio still looks powerful. The Tonale is more low profile, but still classy. And the Junior looks young and dynamic.

[Jeroen]

It’s probably me being a bit of a grumpy old man, or my MCI playing up, possibly both, but I find these three cars looking pretty much identical. Worse, they look like any modern SUV. Ugly and boxy!

Alfas main selling point, my opinion, was always they made cars that stood out from the competition. From a mile away and close up. I won’t even start about all real Alfa’s having rear wheel drive. Those days are long gone.

These cars have no distinguishing features from one another or from the competition. Which means these are just average cars. Mind you, these days an average car is usually a pretty good car. In terms of safety, emissions, comfort, handling, features and so on. But it’s still average, absolutely nothing stands out. You can stick an Alfa badge on anything with four wheels, but that does not automatically make it a real special car.

I would not consider myself an Alfisti, but I have had several, including a 75 as a company car. None of this floats my boat, irrespective of the model name.

I will stick to what many consider the grand daddy of all SUV, my 1998 Jeep Cherokee! Bags of character, indestructible. There are one or two flaws, fuel efficiency and handling springs to mind, but that is more than compensated by the overall character.

I don’t see myself buying any of the current Alfa model line up in 10-20 years. Mind you, they will probably pay you to take it off their hands by then. These things depreciate fast!

Jeroen

[ron178]

Not sure this one was approved by Alfa's PR team...