- Alfa Romeo has decided to rename the Milano as the Junior.
- The change comes shortly after an Italian minister suggested using the Milano name was illegal, because the crossover won’t be made in Italy.
- Alfa Romeo changed the name to avoid “controversy” and jokingly thanked the government for the free publicity.
The Alfa Romeo Milano was introduced less than a week ago, but it’s already undergone a major change. In fact, it’s no longer even called the Milano.
The surprising development comes shortly after Adolfo Urso, Italian Minister of Enterprises and Made in Italy, suggested the name was illegal. As he explained, “A car called Milano cannot be produced in Poland” as law “stipulates that you cannot give indications that mislead consumers.” In effect, he was claiming shoppers would be duped into thinking the crossover was made in Milan.
More: Italy Says It’s Illegal For Alfa Romeo To Build The Milano In Poland Because Of Its Name
While that seems like a ridiculous argument considering no one believes Hyundai makes vehicles in Tucson, Arizona, Santa Fe, New Mexico or Santa Cruz, California, it appears the kerfuffle was too much for Alfa Romeo. As a result, they’ve decided to rename the Milano as the Junior.
That’s a stunning change, especially considering the Italian government had months to protest the name, but the company decided it was the best move. As they explained, “Despite … believing that the name met all legal requirements and that there are issues 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.” Alfa Romeo went on to jokingly thank the government for the “free publicity brought on by this debate.”
Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said “The choice of the name Alfa Romeo Junior is completely natural, as it is strongly linked to the history of the brand and has been among our favorites and among the public’s favorites since the beginning.” He added, “We decided to change the name, even though we know that we are not required to do so, because we want to preserve the positive emotion that our products have always generated and avoid any type of controversy.”
The executive went on to say the crossover is already a smashing success as the attention they’ve received is “quite exciting.” In particular, Imparato said they received an “unprecedented number of visits to the online configurator, causing the website to crash for a couple hours.”
Getting back to the name, Alfa Romeo introduced the GT 1300 Junior in 1966 as an affordable model aimed at young consumers. It was an instant success and the company sold more than 92,000 units.
