A cargo of greater than 130 Fiat electrical autos (EVs) has reportedly been seized by Italian police… and it’s all due to stickers.
Reuters reviews 134 Fiat Topolinos – a redesigned model of the Citroen Ami and Opel Rocks Electrical quadricycles – had been seized by the Italian Guardia di Finanza (finance police) after arriving in Italy final week from Morocco the place they’re produced.
The rationale? A sticker on the automobile’s doorways which incorporates the colors of the Italian flag.
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The sticker in query is situated simply behind the door deal with
In keeping with a spokesperson for Fiat father or mother firm Stellantis, Italian police allege the stickers may mislead consumers about the place the Topolinos are constructed, falling foul of the nation’s ‘Made in Italy’ legal guidelines.
Related rules not too long ago noticed the Alfa Romeo Milano rebadged because the Junior shortly after it was unveiled, because the SUV is in-built Poland however its identify referenced the Italian metropolis.
Stellantis defended the Topolino’s Italian flag-inspired stickers, saying town automobile was designed by its Italian subsidiary Centro Stile Fiat (Fiat Type Centre) – although it has began to take away the small decal.
“The only goal of the sticker was to point the entrepreneurial origin of the product,” the Stellantis spokesperson informed Reuters.
“In any case, to resolve any points, it was determined to intervene on the autos with the removing of the small stickers, topic to the inexperienced gentle by the authorities.”
As with its Citroen Ami and Opel Rocks Electrical siblings, the Fiat Topolino will not be a automobile, and is as an alternative categorised as a quadricycle.
Not one of the three EVs can be found in Australia.
MORE: Fiat Topolino EV is cute, however not technically a automobile
