The New Alfa Romeo Milano Is Now Called The ‘Junior’

Due to pressure from the Italian government, the new Alfa Romeo Milano has been renamed ‘Junior’.

Ever since its global debut last week, the all-new Alfa Romeo Milano has been making headlines everywhere, not only as the marque’s first all-electric model but also as its new entry-level model. However, it appears that the name Alfa picked for its entry-level SUV didn’t go down well with the Italian government, so much so that it has prompted the automaker to opt for another name.

Italian Minister of Enterprise and 'Made in Italy' Adolfo Urso (left)

As pointed out by the Italian Minister of Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, Alfa Romeo can’t use the Milano name simply because the model in question was not made in Italy, with said subcompact SUV being manufactured at the Stellantis plant in Poland. As a result, Alfa Romeo is forced to drop the Milano name from its new entry-level model, with said model now known as the Alfa Romeo ‘Junior’.

Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato

Commenting on this new naming choice, Alfa Romeo CEO Jean-Philippe Imparato said, “The choice of the name Alfa Romeo Junior is completely natural, as it is strongly linked to the history of the brand and has been among our favourites and among the public’s favourites since the beginning.”

“We decided to change the name, even though we know that we are not required to do so, because we want to preserve the positive emotion that our products have always generated and avoid any type of controversy,” the CEO added.

Nomenclature issues aside, Imparato said the Junior SUV has garnered quite a bit of attention, with said model receiving an unprecedented number of visits to the online configurator, causing the website to crash for a couple hours.

More importantly, this is not the first time an Alfa car has been named Junior, with the previous one being the GT 1300 Junior Coupe back in 1966. With said model marketed for a younger audience at a more affordable price, Alfa thinks it is best to follow the Junior naming strategy with its new entry-level model, with the hopes of emulating the GT 1300 Junior’s success.