Italian customs halt shipment of Moroccan-made Fiats

A shipment of 134 new Fiat Stellantis Topolinos was recently seized by Italian customs at the port of Livorno. Italian customs seized the shipment because the Italian flag on the cars indicated the country of manufacture as Italy, which is incorrect – the model is produced by the plant in Morocco.

Quoted by the Italian media, Stellantis explained that the flag symbolized the Italian character of the company and that it had been clearly explained that production would take place in Morocco. Customs officials argued the flags constituted a false indication of origin, while Stellantis maintained they only indicated the company's heritage.

In this regard, the company points out that «the design of the new Topolino, Fiat's historic car since 1936, was conceived and developed in Turin by a team of professionals from the Centro Stile Fiati of Stellantis Europe S.p.A., an Italian company». Stellantis also states that, pending approval, «the stickers affixed to the seized cars will be removed».