A naming farce for Alfa RomeoAlfa's first electric car will now be called 'Junior' instead of G

Delete what doesn't suit you: In this case, you can leave the word “Alfa Romeo” and the rest of the car standing, but you can cross out the word “Milano” on the sign. If necessary, fill in “Junior” where the Italian city name now appears.

This is how things can go when the Italians have to produce the car in Poland to save money – and the Minister of Industry signs…

04/16/2024 13:41 | Updated 14:10

Sometimes we wander a little here at elbil.no.

And we have to admit, we were in a bit of a dumb mood when Alfa Romeo announced in December that it was coming out with its first electric car — and we wrote this story:

Alfa Romeo launches its first electric car in April:

Can you guess what it's called?

Milan -> Junior

As we wrote in the introduction: “Little hint: it's on the label.”

But then reality turns out to be a lot messier than we are when we revitalize ourselves a little.

For now, less than a week after the global launch of the Alfa Romeo Milano electric car, it has been decided that it cannot be called what it says on the sticker at all.

And now Alfa Romeo Milano is suddenly called Alfa Romeo Junior instead.

However, if you ignore the name, you can still safely rely on the other details in the story we wrote when the car was launched last week:

Alfa Romeo Milano Launch:

Here is the first electric car produced by Alfa Romeo

Illegal with AC Milan from Poland

And so one of them was released today press release From the importer of Alfa Romeo Stellantis, where we can read the following:

“A representative of the Italian government has decided that the name Milano is illegal and cannot be used.”

“Despite the fact that Alfa Romeo believed that the name met all legal requirements, they chose to change it in order to get the issue out of the way,” reads the press release – which does not go into the background of the name change.

But the background is as follows: when it became widely known that Milano would not be produced in Italy, but in Poland, the Italian Minister of Industry signed the following:

– A car called Milano cannot be made in Poland. Industry Minister Adolfo Orso said this was prohibited under Italian law, citing 2003 regulations targeting products that “look Italian” but falsely claim to be Italian.

Alfa Romeo president Jean-Philippe Imparato is said to have given the following justification for the name change during a press conference yesterday, although the company disagrees with the Industry Minister's assessment that the Milan name is illegal:

– When you engage in political discussions, you immediately lose half of your customers, and we wanted to prevent that.

Hey, Junior: The Italian Minister of Industry just said: “Forget Milan.” And Alfa Romeo just: “Okay.” Now, Alfa Romeo's first electric car is called Junior instead.

– Perfectly fits the brand's first electric car

Whether the marketing is misleading or not, Alfa Romeo is saving so much money by producing the car in Poland that changing this part is irrelevant.

At the same time, in a familiar style of dealing with the media, this nonsense is now being repackaged and initially presented as something positive. The Stellantis press release begins with the following quote:

Alfa Romeo is a comprehensive car brand where the emphasis is on enthusiasm and driving pleasure. The Junior name fits perfectly with the brand's first electric car. In the same way as the original Junior, the new Junior will attract new customers who want exclusivity and driving pleasure, says Lise Breeds Aarstrand, Director of Alfa Romeo at Bertel O. Steen.

The press release reminds us that this is not the first time Alfa Romeo has held the “Junior” moniker:

“On September 26, 1966, the GT 1300 Junior was launched. This car created a new generation of Alfa Romeo,” we read there.

And with the Junior Electric, when it arrives, the stage is at least set for a new generation of Alfa Romeo – even with a very small naming farce in the middle of the launch race…

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