After the case of the new Alfa Romeo Milano whose choice of name sparked controversy at a political level so much so as to force the car manufacturer to change its name, it is now Xiaomi that ends up in the eye of the storm that he chose to use Modena as the name for the platform of the SU7, its first electric car.
During the inauguration of the Motor Valley Fest, the mayor of Modena spokeGian Carlo Muzzarelli, who pointed the finger at the Chinese company, defining the decision to appropriate the name of the Italian city as unacceptable given that there is no connection with the territory.
The mayor was very clear during his speech.
We cannot even accept the idea that a Chinese car manufacturer gives the name Modena to one of its products. I have given a mandate to the Municipality’s lawyers to understand what to do to prevent the Modena brand from being exploited by someone who is not even present in Italy and does not produce here in our territory. We ask the Government to support us in this effort.
The support of the Italian Government did not take long to arrive. In fact, the Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Ursothen had a telephone conversation with the mayor of Modena, ensuring maximum support in this battle for the protection of the Modena denomination.
At the same time, he also illustrated to the mayor what was introduced by the new European Union regulation on geographical indications for artisanal and industrial products, which can allow greater protection of production linked to the Motor Valley model.
In this regard, Urso added that the ministry has already carried out an initial survey of over two hundred places in Italy that are typical for their production, which can claim the recognition of geographical indication provided for in the new regulation to protect consumers and EU producers.
It didn’t take long Xiaomi’s response to the statements of representatives of the national and local government. Reply we report.
In relation to recent news circulating over the weekend and statements made by national and local government representatives, Xiaomi would like to clarify that the name of its electric vehicle is Xiaomi SU7. ‘Modena’ represents only the internal name of a project, as well as the architecture identifier of the ‘Xiaomi EV Modena Architecture’ platform as announced during an event held in Beijing on December 28, 2023. The company therefore emphasizes that it has no intention of use it for global marketing campaigns by indicating it as the car name. Xiaomi has always been committed to complying with all applicable European and Italian regulations, including the regulation on the protection of geographical indications.
[Aggiornato ore 16.50 con replica ufficiale di Xiaomi]
