FIAT

Fiat 500e appears without the famous Fiat emblem due to a barb with Giorgia Meloni's government

For years, it was almost difficult to distinguish the Italian State from Fiat, such was the size of this Agnelli family manufacturer. When the economy was booming, the car manufacturer received all kinds of perks, but when the situation got complicated, Fiat was called upon to contribute and employ an extraordinary batch of unemployed people. Now, with Fiat (Alfa Romeo and Lancia) in the hands of Stellantis and the Government in the hands of Giorgia Meloni, the conversation seems to be different. The most recent barb in this relationship comes in the form of an advertisement for the Fiat 500e, without the model displaying the brand's emblem.

Like any country, Italy intends to attract investment and is particularly concerned about Fiat moving factories to other European countries, where labor is cheaper and less likely to be manipulated by unions with their own agendas. And although the Italian brand has had a factory in Poland since 1992, to produce models like the Panda more cheaply, Meloni took very seriously the fact that Stellantis began producing the Fiat Topolino in its facilities in Morocco, an electric quadricycle that, like like the Opel Rocks Electric, it is based on the Citroën Ami.

Being produced in North Africa and being sold in Italy, displaying the Fiat flag, unnerved Meloni. To the point of making it make the mistake of banning the Topolino from being offered in Italy, in Fiat's country, with a banner representing the Italian flag 1 centimeter high and 5 centimeters long. And, to convince Stellantis that the Topolino cannot fly the Italian flag coming from Morocco, it seizes them at the port until the flag disappears.

Stellantis did not appreciate the demonstration of (excessive) power by the Italian Government, especially since the largest shareholder of the group led by the Portuguese Carlos Tavares is the same Agnelli family that previously owned the Fiat Group, which is why it decided to take revenge on Meloni and respond it to the letter. To this end, he created an advertisement featuring a Fiat 500e, but without the Fiat emblem. And he explains why: the emblem is unnecessary, since everyone recognizes the model as a Fiat and as an Italian product. The same happens with the Topolino which, despite coming from Morocco, remains a Fiat and, as such, from Italy. Interestingly, the Stellantis video with the 500e was shot in Portugal, on one of the most beautiful roads in the country, precisely the one that gives access to the beaches on the Serra da Arrábida coast.

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