Alexandre
Alfa Romeo Milanoa new model that is already stirring up controversy just a few days after its launch. at the heart of a debate in Italy, not least because of its name. The Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, has raised an important objection that could affect the future of this vehicle.
The main problem lies in the choice of the name Alfa Romeo Milano, which, according to Minister Urso, misled by its geographical implications. A 2003 law prohibits the use of names evocative of Italy for products manufactured outside Italian borders. This law aims to protect the authenticity and geographical association of Italian products, a concept known as the Italian Sounding.
Yet Stellantis' decision to produce this model at its Tychy plant in Poland seems to run counter to this law. The Tychy plant already produces other vehicles on the same CMP platform, such as the Jeep Avenger and the Fiat 600, making production of the Milano model technically logical but potentially problematic from a legal and commercial point of view.
Minister Urso clearly expresses his doubts: if the name Alfa Romeo Milano is maintained, chis could lead to confusion and possible deception as to the car's geographical origin, which is an essential element of Alfa Romeo's brand identity. Consequently, the vehicle may have to be renamed for the Italian marketbut will retain its original appellation in other countries, unless a solution can be found to enable it to be produced in Italy.
The debate surrounding the name of the Alfa Romeo Milano illustrates once again tensions between strategies for globalizing the production of Stellantis and the Italian government a reminder of the laws designed to protect the cultural and commercial identity of national products.
An Alfa Romeo Milano made in Poland shouldn't be called Milano, because it can't represent the Italian city, nor claim to be made in Italy. It's more like a Franco-Polish car with an Italian name, and the help of designers working at Alfa Romeo to make it look like an Italian car, plus the addition of logos. Tavares and Imparato forgot to think about this problem.
However, when you buy a Fiat 500 or an old-generation Abarth, you know that part of the production comes from Tychy in Poland.
Well, Jean-Phiphi, you see, you should have called him Kid or Junior. Well, Kid would really sound like a toy. The grille is already a clip-on trinket...
It may well be called Arna in Italy, since they like to revive the emotions of the past... No, I'm kidding 😉 I'm no SUV fan, but I find it better proportioned than the standard Tonale. In fact, the styling is quite good, but I think the Mesonero-Romanos team could have been more creative with the front end, which looks like a mix of Renault Megane (or Captur) and Citroën C4 Picasso, with a scudetto that I find completely unsuccessful...
When Tavares says it was designed in Italy, I get the impression it was by a PSA team. Everything looks the same. It's getting too heavy to impose PSA at every level... It doesn't look like a merger, but like domination. Why talk about a merger if FCA engines are no longer used, if FCA platforms are no longer used, if design, R&D, marketing and production teams are laid off? The only winner on the Italian side is Elkann.
An Alfa Romeo should be produced in Italy in any case. The premium positioning should make it possible to solve this kind of obvious problem, but these days Vuitton bags are not necessarily produced in France...
A platform made in France, French engines and components, designed by a Spaniard, manufactured in Poland, what's so Italian about it apart from the name? MDR.