The car named Milano cannot be manufactured in Poland. It is against the law,” declared Italian Minister of Industry Adolf Ursa just hours after the unveiling of the new model.
The global automaker was forced to change the name of the new car model after the Italian government threatened it with a lawsuit. Vehicles originally intended to be called Alfa Romeo Milano had to be renamed Alfa Romeo Junior by the manufacturer.
According to Fortune, the name change was necessary due to the country in which the cars will be produced – Alfa Romeo’s plant is located in Tychy, Poland. “The car named Milano cannot be manufactured in Poland. It is against the law,” declared Italian Minister of Industry Adolf Ursa just hours after the unveiling of the new model.
The original name is tied to the company’s history
However, the name Milano was paradoxically chosen by the citizens of Italy themselves, who were supposed to decide on a new name for the SUV as part of the carmaker’s survey. Milano won because the company Alfa Romeo was founded in this historic city, as reported by Autoblog.
The mentioned law concerns the prohibition of manufacturing products with an Italian-sounding name that are not produced in Italy – the government wants to prevent “consumer deception.” “A car named Milano must be made in Italy,” the minister insists.
Alfa Romeo complied with the demands of the Italian government, and therefore, just under two weeks after the introduction of the new model, the car was renamed. “Despite Alfa Romeo’s belief that the name meets all legal requirements and that there are things much more important than the name of a new car, Alfa Romeo has decided to change it from Milano to Alfa Romeo Junior in the spirit of promoting mutual understanding,” the company said in an official statement.
