Fiat Topolino, 134 microcars made in Morocco seized at the port of Livorno for the tricolour sticker
Life is not so sweet for the Fiat microcar: due to stickers with the Italian flag on the bodywork, the Gdf and Adm have accused Stellantis of falsely indicating the origin of the product: it is not made in Italy
3' min read
3' min read
Seized at the port of Livorno, by the Guardia di Finanza and the Customs and Monopolies Agency, 119 Fiat Topolino and 15 Fiat Topolino Dolcevita, microcars (not cars) that are electric and can even be driven by 14-year-olds with a driving licence. It should be remembered that the Topolino is the different twin of the Citroën Ami microcar.
The news is reported by Il Tirreno. According to the newspaper, the machines bore stickers with the Italian flag, which is why the Gdf and Adm challenged Stellantis for falsely indicating the origin of the product: it was not made in Italy but manufactured in Morocco and arrived in Livorno on a cargo ship.
"In order to resolve all issues, it was decided to intervene on the impounded vehicles with the removal of the small stickers subject to authorisation by the authorities," says a Stellantis spokeswoman. "The sole purpose of the sticker in question was to indicate the entrepreneurial origin of the product," explains Stellantis. "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 at the Centro Stile FIAT of Stellantis Europe S.p.A., an Italian company. Moreover, the company has always been clear since the presentation of the new model that it is manufactured in Morocco. We therefore believe that we have operated in full compliance with the rules, communicating in a transparent manner the country of production of the Topolino, without any deceptive intent towards consumers'.
The seizure took place last Wednesday and the alleged offence is the sale of industrial products with misleading signs, for which, Il Tirreno also reports, the prosecutor of Stellantis Europa is under investigation. The tricolour flags on the doors were allegedly considered by investigators to be misleading signs for the end consumer. The cars, destined for car dealerships to be sold on the Italian market, are now in judicial storage at the Leonardo Da Vinci terminal and at the Cilp, the Company of Port Workers' Enterprises, where they were unloaded.
