We can all name something we like that is named after the place it originates from.
Cognac, like that of Remy Martin or Hennessy, is named after the Cognac region of France. By legend, the tuxedo originated from Tuxedo Park, New York, while Oxford shoes originated from styles picked up by students at Oxford University.
Recently Stellantis (STLA) luxury marque Alfa Romeo unveiled its first electric vehicle, which is named after the brand's birthplace — Milano (the Italian name for Milan.).
However, certain details that Alfa Romeo figureheads disclosed about the car named after the Italian city has Italian government officials up in arms.
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Stellantis
Unlike other cars in the Alfa Romeo lineup, the small Milano is set to be the first Alfa built outside of Italy — at a Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland.
That fact doesn't sit right with Italian industry minister Adolfo Urso. As a staunch protectionist, he strongly implored that assembling a car that Alfa Romeo dare call a 'Milano' outside the borders of Italy would violate Italian law.
“A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland. This is forbidden by Italian law,” Urso said, referring to 2003 legislation that targets “Italian sounding” products that falsely claim to be Italian.
“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.”
The law Urso is referring to has been used in the past to defend Italy's culinary exports, specifically against food products like American-made 'parmesan' that competes in the same market as Italian 'parmigiano reggiano.'
Similar policies exist in other European countries. In April 2023, customs officials in France destroyed more than 2,300 cans of Miller High Life for daring to print "the Champagne of Beers" on its packaging.
During the reveal on April 10, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said that building the Milano in Poland instead of Italy has allowed Alfa Romeo to offer a lower, more attractive price for consumer, saving them about $10,700 (converted from Euros).
"If built in Italy, a Milano would have started from about €40,000 (about $43,000) instead of €30,000 (about $32,000), limiting its potential on the marketplace,” Tavares told AutoNews during the event.
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Currently, Stellantis is the largest automaker building cars in Italy, and has asked the Italian government for local subsidies and other support to help boost Italian production. In lieu of this, the automaker has committed to increasing its annual production in the country from 750,000 cars to 1 million cars.
The current government in Italy is very determined to grow its local car production. In Feburary 2024, Italian industry minister Adolfo Urso said that he was in talks with brands like Tesla (TSLA) and Chinese automakers like BYD (BYDDY) to attract their factories to Italian shores.
TheStreet has reached out to Stellantis for comment.
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