Alfa Romeo has long been known for the left-centered placement of the license plate. But EU rules now prohibit that.
Alfa Romeo may no longer place the number plate on the left of the front bumper. It's all due to a new set of rules on pedestrian safety from the EU.
This is what Alfa Romeo's head of design, Alejandro Mesonero-Romanos, says in an interview with Autocar .
Immediately, however, the design manager is ok with the ban limiting him. For him, it's all about symmetry.
– This will make it possible for us to achieve symmetry. So I'm happy. I'm one of those people who actually likes the license plate to be in the middle.
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Specifically, it is new regulations, which the EU calls the General Safety Regulations (GSR), that limit Mesonero-Romano's work.
The decision has already had consequences for Alfa Romeo. Because the number plate of the new Junior, whose name the Italian government forced through, is located right in the middle of the bumper.
It is yet to be seen whether Alfa Romeo only bows to the EU rule here on the European market, or whether the Stellantis brand lets the EU politicians dictate the design language throughout the world.
That said, another Alfa detail has actually made a comeback. The new Junior is indeed the first Alfa Romeo since the Giulietta was removed from the model program in 2020, which hides the rear mandrel handles in the C-pillar.
The sister brand Fiat, however, right now has significantly bigger problems than the placement of a number plate. Italian police have seized more than 100 copies of the brand's small city car Topolino. All because of three colors. Read more about it here .
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