Fiat cars seized by Italian government over flag

Fiat cars seized by Italian government over flag

Automotive News Europe — 2024-05-20

Automotive Industry

The Topolino microcars allegedly violate the Made in Italy law for having the national flag on them when they are assembled in Morocco.

Italy’s financial police seized dozens of Fiat Topolinos that they said carried the national flag on units actually assembled in Morocco, in the latest fight between Giorgia Meloni’s government and the automaker.

The vehicles were blocked at the port of Livorno for alleged violations of the so-called Made in Italy law, which already forced Fiat parent Stellantis to rebrand its Alfa Romeo Milano sports car to Junior.

A spokesman for Stellantis confirmed the seizure, which was first reported by Italian media, including La Repubblica.

Italy’s government is at loggerheads with Stellantis following plans to cut jobs in the country and move production to lower-cost nations. Last month (April 2024), thousands of Italians joined striking workers near the automaker’s base in Turin in anticipation of a new round of redundancies.

Stellantis says it will remove a small Italian flag sticker on the cars, which it added because the Topolino project was developed in Turin. The automaker denies any wrongdoing, and said it has always communicated in a transparent way on the country where the Topolino is manufactured.  

The original Topolino — Italian for “Little Mouse” - quadricycle was one of the first mass-produced vehicles made in Italy in the 1930s. The revamped version is expected to start at €9,890 ($10,775).

The automaker announced earlier in May 2024 it will start selling vehicles made by Chinese partner Leapmotor in Europe as part of a global expansion as the automaker fights to lower the cost of electric vehicles.