Milano, Mirafiori, Tychy? | Axon's Automotive Anorak

The problem for Stellantis stems from its decision to not produce the new Alfa Romeo in its traditional Milan home which the new model is named after – nor indeed even in Italy – but rather outside of the Country in its ex-Polski Fiat/FSM plant in Tychy, Poland, where the hugely successful Fiat 500, Panda and Lancia Ypsilon have been built for years.

As if to add insult to injury for the Italian Government, its industry minister has pointed out the Stellantis decision to name the new electric SUV after the original 1910 birthplace of Alfa Romeo actually violates Italian law. Incredibly, due to a quirk of local Italian law, this seems to be true as there is a law on the Italian books that strictly forbids this type of thing.

Significantly, the Junior will be the first ever Alfa Romeo not to be built at all in Italy. The marque has made existing previous models outside of its homeland for local market consumption, in South Africa, Rhodesia, and Malaysia, for example. So you see the irony of attempting to name the EV in Milan’s honour.

Alfa Romeo has used the Milano name before, for its North American Federal specification versions of the 1985-92 Alfa 75, but at least that model was actually built in Milan.

Speaking on the subject, possibly looking to appease the local (but powerful) Italian unions, the Italian Minister of Economic Development – Adolfo Urso – says: “Italian-sounding products outside of Italy cannot be produced in Poland, or anywhere else for the matter. This is forbidden by Italian law,” referring to 2003 legislation that targets ‘Italian sounding’ products that falsely claim to be Italian.

Urso adds “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.”

Typically, this law has previously been invoked against food products not made in Italy, such as non-Italian parmesan cheese that resembles authentic ‘parmigiano.’

Urso’s gripe is the latest in an on-going war of words between Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s nationalist government and the Franco-Italian vehicle producing giant Stellantis. The two sides continue to discuss plans to boost its domestic Italian car production to one million units.

Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis, has defended the choice to manufacture the new crossover outside of Italy as the economics from the lower labour cost Tychy plant will enable the EV’s starting price to be around £36,000, rather than a less competitive higher cost of c.£44,000+ if the car was made in Italy at Alfa Romeo’s Cassino factory.

Tavares has confirmed however, that the next-generation larger Stelvio SUV (due in 2025) and Giulia saloon (due in 2026), will continue to be built in Cassino, central Italy, where Stellantis will invest more than €100 million to install a European production for its new STLA Large platform.

For its wide portfolio of Italian marques, Stellantis has recently been studying the viability of vastly increasing production and sales volumes (to more than double the existing numbers) for models that are currently not selling in the needed project numbers. Proof of this can be seen at Fiat’s famous Mirafiori facility, where production of the good and low-selling electric Fiat 500e has recently been halved.

Fiat had expected the loveable 500e to have caught on with the buying public by now, but the model’s actual sales uptake has been disappointingly low and does not tally with the Italian government making strident noises about the scale of Stellantis’ commitment to Italy. Before the Milano name had been confirmed, the motoring media was rife with stories that the smaller new entry EV model would be called the Brennero, but this proved not to be the case.

Naming cars after the location where they were built used a to be regular pastime. Alfa Romeo named its original entry model – the 1971 AlfaSud – after the southern Italian location of its then all-new Naples factory. Fiat did a similar thing when it first introduced model names (rather than just numbers) fifty years ago for the 131 Mirafiori, built, oddly enough, at its vast Mirafiori plant.

Closer to home, the Morris Oxford, Cowley and Isis immediately spring to mind as being named to honour the location of their creation. The latter name of course was chosen after the pleasant leafy suburb of Oxford, close to the Cowley plant, with none of the unfortunate sinister connections the Isis name now has.

Thankfully other UK makers such as Ford and Vauxhall had the good sense not to name their models after their factories, such as the Ford Dagenham or Vauxhall Luton, but smaller vehicle manufacturers such as Bristol Cars, Caterham and Bedford took their names from their birthplaces. As for Alfa Romeo’s Montreal, this desirable V8 coupe took its name from the Canadian exhibition venue where its designer Bertone originally debuted the car as a concept in 1967.

So, Milano out, Junior in. What do you think of the situation and the name change?