"Not Domestic"…134 Fiat Cars Seized in Italy

Italy's representative automobile brand Fiat's ultra-compact electric car Topolino, 134 units, were seized locally due to violations of origin regulations.

According to ANSA news agency on the 19th (local time), the Italian police seized all 134 Topolinos produced in Morocco upon their arrival at the port of Livorno in central Tuscany on the 15th.

The issue started with the Italian flag sticker attached next to the door handle. Italy enacted a law in 2003 prohibiting the use of the tricolor flag, the boot shape reminiscent of the Italian peninsula, and Italian-style notation on products not produced domestically.

Fiat explained that although the vehicles were produced in Morocco, they were developed in Turin, Italy, and the sticker was attached merely to emphasize that point. However, authorities did not accept this, stating that consumers could be misled into thinking the cars were made in Italy.

A spokesperson for Stellantis Italy, the multinational automaker group owning Italian brands including Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Lancia, and Maserati, stated, "We have decided to remove the small stickers to resolve the issue."

In recent years, Stellantis has been relocating its production facilities from Italy to countries with lower labor costs such as Morocco, Serbia, Poland, and Hungary, causing conflicts with the Italian government.

The Italian government is demanding Stellantis produce one million vehicles annually domestically to protect the national automobile industry, while also engaging with Tesla and three Chinese automakers to attract foreign car manufacturers.