Italy Seizes Moroccan-Made Fiat Cars in "Made in Italy" Dispute

The Italian government, which attaches importance to "Made in Italy", does not want an Italian flag on the Stellantis Topolino. This week, the Italian police seized more than 134 Fiat cars imported from Morocco on the grounds that a sticker in the colors of the Italian flag affixed to their doors could give a false indication of their origin, said a spokesman for Stellantis Italia on Saturday. The operation took place in the port of Livorno. The group is accused of having produced the Fiat Topolino in the Kenitra plant in Morocco and of having stuck an Italian flag on the vehicles, which could give the Italian customer a misleading indication of the place of production.

"The sole purpose of the sticker was to indicate the entrepreneurial origin of the product," said the spokesman, adding that the group thought it had acted in full compliance with the rules. He also stressed that the design of the new Topolino - a historic Fiat model since 1936 - had been designed and developed in Italy by a FIAT Style Center team, which is part of Stellantis Europe, an Italian company, and to ensure that the decision to produce the new Topolino in Morocco was clear since the announcement of the new model. "In any case, to resolve any potential issues, it was decided to intervene on the vehicles by removing the small stickers, subject to the green light from the authorities," added the spokesman.

For months, the Italian government and Stellantis have been at odds over the group’s production choices, Reuters reports. According to Rome, cars marketed as Italian products should be produced in the country. This is how in April last year, Alfa Romeo’s first electric city SUV made in Poland had abandoned the name Milano chosen in reference to the city of Milan where the Alfa Romeo brand was born in 1910, in favor of the name Junior.