Under Italian ownership and management Fiat, including Alfa Romeo, saw car and van production in Italy fall to nearly 700,000, from its heyday of well over 1 million. Moreover, Fiat rarely made money, if at all, in recent years. Merging with Chrysler had brought greater scale, along with the profitable Jeep model range, some of which have been made in Italy. A true American icon made in Italy, but no American politician screamed foul.
At the same time, Fiat produced vehicles with Italian sounding names outside Italy, such as the Fiorino, Doblo and Tipo in Turkey, and Cinquecento (500) and Seicento (600) in Poland. The Uno and Strada have been made in Brazil for many years. But when Alfa Romeo’s long-awaited (and known about) Milano small SUV was officially launched in April (having been announced in December last year), some Italian politicians almost spontaneously combusted because the Milano will be made in Poland. A couple of days later and Stellantis has performed a volte face and changed the name from Milano to Junior.
