Last week, Alfa Romeo revealed its new crossover called the Milano, which is available with fully electric and mild hybrid powertrains. This makes the Milano the brand’s first electric vehicle (EV), but that’s not the only first that the model represents as it is also the first and (currently) only Alfa Romeo to be produced outside of Italy.

Despite its very Italian-sounding name, the Milano is actually built in Poland at Stellantis’ Tychy plant alongside the Jeep Avenger and Fiat 600 which use the same Common Modular Platform (CMP). This fact hasn’t gone down well with Italian officials who criticised the carmaker for producing its first electric vehicle (EV) abroad, reports Reuters.

“A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland. This is forbidden by Italian law. This law stipulates that you cannot give indications that mislead consumers. So, a car called Milano must be produced in Italy. Otherwise, it gives a misleading indication which is not allowed under Italian law,” said Italy industry minister Adolfo Urso.

The law mentioned by Urdo was introduced in 2003 and states it is illegal to present a foreign-made product as coming from Italy. This is typically invoked against food products, which is why, for example, parmesan cheese sold will only be called parmigiano if it comes from Italy.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares previously defended the decision to build the Milano in Poland, saying that building it outside of Italy will slash 10,000 euros (about RM50k) off the crossover’s retail price that starts at under 30,000 euros (RM153k).

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