Stellantis’ obsession with having to place an Italian label on its products is starting to take on grotesque characteristics. First they tried with the Alfa Romeo “Milano”, produced entirely in Poland and promptly renamed “Junior” after the government made them understand that it would be a half-scam. Then there was the case of the Italian flags attached to the Topolinos and the 600s, models made in Morocco and Poland. Also in this case the group had to backtrack to avoid the risk of violating the law on Italian sounding, which protects our products from fake ones.
Think about it, in the end the idea came: a beautiful special edition of the electric 500, which will be called Mirafiori. This time the government will not be able to say anything, given that the vehicle is actually produced in Turin, in the Mirafiori factories. Perhaps, however, the workers at the plants will have something to say, having largely ended up on redundancy pay after production was halved in what was the beating heart of the Fiat brand.
The news was announced yesterday by Olivier Francois, CEO of Fiat and Global Chief Marketing Officer of Stellantis, who showed up at the plant to confirm the arrival of the 500 hybrid (anticipated a few days ago by CEO Carlos Tavares) and, obviously, to reiterate the centrality of Italy and its factories for the group. «Fiat», he explained, «is proud to be the flag bearer of Italy in the world. Italy represents our foundations, our driving force and our future. And Mirafiori is one of our engines, which represents Italy, its people, its values, its pride and the 500.”
The new hybrid will arrive in an unspecified period between the end of 2025 and the beginning of 2026. Production could reach 100-110 thousand units per year. As for Italianness, which has now become an issue to justify the continuous relocation of models to countries with low labor costs, Francois wanted to point out that “70% of Fiats sold in Italy and one in three globally are built in Italy” . Which seems like a worse patch than the hole.
Ah, the new 500 Mirafiori will be a convertible and will have a chrome plate with the name. In short, a real treat.
