Italy says no to China’s use of name ‘Modena’ for electric car

The council and the mayor of Modena have lashed out at the Chinese electronics company, Xiaomi, saying they are guilty of improperly using the name ‘Modena’ to name the chassis of its electric car.

The Government, Made in Italy and Modena Town Hall are leading the battle over the improper naming of a car not produced in Italy. The Chinese consumer electronics giant has named the platform on which it has based its first electric car, the Xiaomi SU7, ‘Modena’.

The mayor of the city of Modena, Gian Carlo Muzzarelli, in a speech at the Motor Valley Fest, voiced his opposition to the issue, stating that the city absolutely cannot accept the idea of a Chinese carmaker using the name Modena for a car that has no connection with Italy.

The mayor said he had instructed the city’s lawyers to figure out what to do to prevent the Modena brand, inextricably linked to car manufacturing and particularly with the Ferrari brand, “being exploited by someone who is not even present in Italy and does not produce here in our territory”.

Alfonso Urso, Minister for Enterprise and Made in Italy supported the protection of the name ‘Modena’ (used for a car entirely produced in China), also on the basis of current legislation against the use of Italian symbols or names in products made in other countries.

Xiaomi responded that, “it has always been committed to complying with all applicable European and Italian regulations, including the regulation on the protection of geographical indications”.