There is no peace for the Fiat Topolino, now that after the evidentiary seizure of the Customs and Monopolies Agency, in agreement with the Financial Police, the Judge for Preliminary Investigations has also ordered the preventive seizure of the 134 Fiat Topolino and Topolino Dolcevita produced in Morocco and stopped for longer of two weeks at the port of Livorno. We recall that at the center of the issue that emerged in mid-May was the badge of the Italian Tricolor placed on the sides of the Topolino and Topolino Dolcevita, judged misleading by the relevant authorities.
The preventive seizure provision of the Judge for Preliminary Investigations was put into practice to formalize the confiscation of the 134 Fiat Topolinos stopped in Livorno since mid-May, a condition that is unlikely to happen given that Stellantis had immediately made itself available to find an agreement useful to release Fiat brand electric quadricycles. The GIP of the Livorno court, Mario Profeta, contested not only the presence of the Italian Tricolore, which could confuse consumers as to the actual origin of the model, but also the names Topolino and Topolino Dolcevita. According to what was admitted by the GIP, these names already refer to Italianness and Made in Italy; the first refers to the historic model produced by Fiat in Turin from 1936 to 1955 while the second is inspired by the film of the same name by Federico Fellini.
The seizure of the 134 Fiat Topolino took place last May 15th at the port of Livorno
We remind you that the seizure involving 134 Fiat Topolinos and Topolino Dolcevitas took place last May 15th, contesting the crime of selling industrial products with false signs who ended up involving the prosecutor of Stellantis Europe SPA in the investigation. The complaints from the Guardia di Finanza and the Customs and Monopolies Agency took place pursuant to article 4, paragraph 49, of the Financial Law of 2004 – 24 December 2003 Number 350 – according to which “the import and export to marketing purposes or the marketing or commission of acts which are not unequivocally entitled to the marketing of products bearing false and misleading indications of provenance or origin” constitutes a crime punishable by article 517 of the Penal Code.
The sticker bearing the Italian Tricolor present on the doors of the new Topolinos was therefore contested; now, if the Preliminary Investigation Judge were to grant the possibility of removing the sticker then the seizure could be concluded by bringing the vehicles up to standard and returning them to Stellantis. A condition that could already materialize in the next few days, since Stellantis had made clear in a note its desire to remove the Tricolore from its Fiat Topolinos to avoid misunderstandings. Some Topolinos that arrived from Morocco after the seizure in May apparently no longer have the Tricolor on their doors.
Today the 119 Topolino and 15 Topolino Dolcevita are still at the terminal of the Compagnia Impresa Lavoratori Portuali of Livorno, waiting for a final decision which should arrive in the next few days.
