“A fleet of cars intercepted by police due to a misunderstanding caused by displayed national flags.”

The Fiat Topolino is an iconic vintage car from the Italian automotive brand. Image source: Fiat.

According to Reuters, Italian police recently seized over 130 Fiat cars imported from Morocco due to a controversial sticker of the Italian flag on the vehicles’ doors, which allegedly caused confusion about their origin.

A Stellantis spokesperson confirmed that a total of 134 Fiat Topolino mini cars were detained by authorities at the port of Livorno, Italy, during customs clearance. The spokesperson emphasized that the sole purpose of the Italian flag sticker was to indicate the product’s country of origin.

Furthermore, they clarified that the new Fiat Topolino was designed and developed in Italy by a team from Stellantis Europe’s Centro Stile Fiat, an Italian company. The company had initially decided that Morocco would be the production site for the next generation of the Fiat Topolino, a historic model in the Fiat brand’s portfolio since 1936.

Despite the controversy, Stellantis addressed the issue by removing the Italian flag stickers upon the request of the authorities.

The Italian flag sticker on the Fiat Topolino’s door caused the temporary hold of over 130 vehicles at the port. Image source: Fiat.

According to Reuters, Stellantis is facing disagreements with a faction of the Italian government regarding their choice of production locations. The Italian government advocates that cars bearing the country’s name should be manufactured domestically before being sold to local customers.

Last month, Alfa Romeo, a luxury car brand under the Stellantis group, also announced a name change for its first electric vehicle model from Milano to Junior. This decision aimed to resolve controversies surrounding the use of an Italian name for a car produced in Poland.

In Vietnam, some car brands have attempted to boost sales by displaying logos or national flags, such as MG with the British flag (a British brand acquired by a Chinese corporation) and Wuling MiniEV with the American flag of the SGMW joint venture (SAIC, GM, and Wuling).