They had a sticker with the Italian tricolor on the side but were not Made in Italy: for this reason 119 Fiat Topolino and 15 Fiat Topolino Dolcevita were seized in the port of Livorno. The episode, reported by the Livorno newspaper Il Tirreno, dates back to last Wednesday: the Financial Police and the Customs and Monopolies Agency accused Stellantis of selling industrial products with false signs, as the cars had been produced in Morocco before be sent to Livorno on a freight ship.
Historic car
The Topolino has been a historic car for Fiat since 1936 but now the name used to produce it abroad could be called into question. The Minister of Business and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, had in the past contested the name of ‘Milano’ for the small SUV produced in Poland at the Tychy plant to the CEO of Alfa Romeo, Philippe Learnato. The name was later changed to ‘Junior’.
Cars in storage
The cars, intended for car dealerships to be marketed on the Italian market, are now in judicial storage at the Leonardo Da Vinci terminals and at Cilp, the port workers’ enterprise company, awaiting release from seizure.
Stellantis’ replica
“To resolve every issue, it was decided to intervene on the seized vehicles with the removal of the small stickers subject to authorization from the authorities”, explained a spokeswoman for Stellantis. “The sticker in question had the sole purpose of indicating the entrepreneurial origin of the product”, specified the Italian-French group, “in fact, the design of the new Topolino, which has been a historic car for Fiat since 1936, was conceived and developed in Turin by a team of professionals from the FIAT Style Center of Stellantis Europe SpA, an Italian company”. “Moreover”, continues Stellantis, “since the presentation of the new model, the Company has always been clear in declaring that it is manufactured in Morocco. We therefore believe we have operated in full compliance with the regulations, transparently communicating the country of production of Topolino, without any deceptive intent towards consumers”.
