Stellantis said that 134 of its Fiat Topolino electric vehicles (EVs) were taken by authorities at the port of Livorno, Italy. The officials said the cars were not truly Italian, even though Fiat is Italy’s biggest carmaker. Most car companies, including Fiat, make cars in different countries. The Fiat Topolinos in question were made in Morocco. The problem was a sticker on the door that had the colors of the Italian flag.
“The sole purpose of the sticker was to indicate the entrepreneurial origin of the product,” said a spokesperson. Fiat thought since the cars were designed in Italy by an Italian company, the stickers were fine. But Italy’s laws are strict when it comes to protecting its products.
The Topolino, also known as the 500, has been around since 1936. It’s famous for being small and was sold until 1955, with almost half a million units sold. It’s a classic example of Italian cars.
The new model is technically a quadricycle, which means it’s in a different category from regular cars. It’s fully electric, looks cute and retro, can go up to 47 miles on a single charge, and doesn’t go faster than 30 mph. It’s like a beginner’s car. But even though it has Italian roots, the Italian government doesn’t want people to think it’s completely Italian.
Fiat agreed to remove the stickers from the cars so they could be sold. This isn’t the first time the Italian government has stepped in. Recently, Alfa Romeo, another carmaker owned by Stellantis, faced a similar issue. They called their new SUV the Milano, but it wasn’t made in Milan, it was made in Poland. Italy is very serious about using city names correctly. If a product isn’t made where the name suggests, they’ll take action.
