Alfa Romeo news! The Milano, which just debuted a few days ago, is to be called the Alfa Romeo Junior.
Alfa Romeo Milano: new Junior name among controversy and uncertainty
The Alfa Romeo Milano‘s debut just five days ago, on April 10, had quickly become the minefield over the name chosen for the Biscione‘s first electric B-SUV. Some Italian government officials, particularly Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy Adolfo Urso, said the name violated Italian Sounding regulations because the new SUV was being produced in Poland while boasting a name strongly evocative of the Italian territory.
That thorny matter forced Jean-Philippe Imparato, CEO of Alfa Romeo, as well as his team, to take a real U-turn: Alfa Romeo Milano will in fact be called Alfa Romeo Junior. The decision to change the name, deemed “against the law” refers to the 2003 law about Italian Sounding mentioned by Minister Urso. By referring to Article 4, paragraph 49 of Law 350/2003 and the Article 517 of the Penal Code, he had stated that “a car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland.” And again, “a car called Milano must be produced in Italy otherwise a fallacious indication is given that is not allowed by Italian law.”
A decision to change the name, coming just five days after the official Alfa Romeo Milano debut, had a resounding shock. Defining the new course was Jean-Philippe Imparato himself, who convened an extraordinary press conference. During the meeting, as reported by Gian Luca Pellegrini, editor of Quattroruote on LinkedIn, Imparato said, “In our opinion, there is no violation of the Italian Sounding law. However, I have felt doubts and uncertainties at the administrative level. Therefore, we make this gesture because we are not doing politics, but business.” Imparato also pointed out that although the name Milan was chosen on Dec. 13, 2023, and with the Ministry aware, “no one had told us anything; the controversy arose the day after the presentation.”
With this choice, Alfa Romeo returns to a historic name for the brand, already among the papal candidates for the new B-SUV. In fact, the Alfa Romeo Milano, which we will soon have to call the Junior, evokes the Giulia GT 1300 Junior of 1966, a model intended for a younger audience thanks to a base trim that included the 1.3 four-cylinder twin-shaft with 89 horsepower.
We are expecting more official announcements by Alfa Romeo in the next several hours.