The controversy between the Italian government and Alfa Romeo seems to be endless. The carmaker was “forced” to change the name of its Milano SUV after its official presentation. Just 5 days after its debut, Alfa Romeo and Stellantis executives decided to rename the new entry-level model to Junior.
Alfa Romeo responds to the Italian government by removing the city of Milan from its navigation maps
Alfa Romeo Junior, produced at the Stellantis plant in Tychy, Poland, was deemed illegal by Minister Adolfo Urso due to its name and place of production. Minister Urso cited a 2003 law on “Italian Sounding” products, which reference Italy but are not Made in Italy. According to Urso, if Alfa Romeo had wanted to keep the name “Milano”, it would have had to build the B-SUV in Stellantis’ Italian plants. However, during the presentation event, Carlos Tavares, CEO of Stellantis, told Automotive News Europe that if produced in Italy, the car (then called Milano) would have had a higher cost of 10,000 euros, impacting its market and customer prices.
In an attempt to appease critics, Jean-Philippe Imparato, CEO of Alfa Romeo, along with Stellantis executives, decided to rename the model “Junior”. However, this strategy seems to have had the opposite effect. Imparato has continued to stir controversy by posting an image from the car’s navigation system on his LinkedIn profile, showing the Lombardy region with “Junior” replacing “Milano”.
Friction between Stellantis and the Italian government has been simmering for months, with CEO Carlos Tavares frequently criticizing the government’s policies. His complaints center on delayed incentives compared to other European markets. The government, on the other hand, wants Stellantis to produce at least 1 million vehicles per year in Italy and is reportedly pressuring the group to attract other automakers to the country. Recent discussions have centered on Chinese automaker Dongfeng, which is rumored to have begun talks about opening a plant in Italy. Before that, negotiations were reportedly underway with Chery, but the company ultimately opted for Spain.
Will the controversy surrounding the Alfa Romeo Junior name finally end? As we discussed in another article, the name “Milano” has not been particularly lucky for the brand in the past, having been used on a few models but never officially adopted.