Beset by an array of issues — from poor marketing to heavy discounting, Maserati needs to catch up in its uphill battle if the company intends to stay afloat. Once a symbol of Italian luxury and performance, Maserati now faces questions about its survival in a competitive and electrifying automotive market. Is it shifting gears fast enough to stay in the race? LUXUO previously discussed Jaguar’s controversial rebranding efforts, and now it looks as if Maserati may not be far behind in risking its storied legacy with questionable moves.
2024 sees Maserati — a legendary Italian automaker — commemorate its 110th anniversary of founding in 1914. Over a century since its inception and this luxury automotive company is facing difficulties. When parent firm Stellantis released its half-year report, Maserati’s sales looked bleak. Through June 2024, the number of cars delivered to consumers dropped from 15,300 to just 6,500. What happened? Carlos Tavares claims that ineffective marketing, not problems with the products or price strategy, caused the alarming decline in sales.
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Stellantis replaced Davide Grasso as CEO of the high-end Italian brand in October 2024 with Santo Ficili to stoke the fire. Ficili, who previously led Stellantis’s Italian market, is currently in charge of the carmaker’s Alfa Romeo brand. Grasso was transferred to the newly established role of chief heritage officer at Stellantis. According to a statement, he is now “responsible for the curation of the history and patrimony of the 14 brands of Stellantis,” which includes collaborations with archives and museums.
When Carlos Tavares, the CEO of Stellantis, the mothership brand created by merging Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, resigned in early December 2024, it caused a stir.
Cars under Stellantis’ 14 brands — Abarth, Alfa Romeo, Chrysler, Citroën, Dodge, DS, Fiat, Jeep, Lancia, Maserati, Opel, Peugeot, Ram Trucks, and Vauxhall — are designed, built, and sold. Stellantis had almost 300,000 workers, sales in over 130 countries, and production facilities in 30 countries at the time of the merger.
The status and future of the well-known Trident car brand are at the centre of the controversy. In addition to having multiple leadership changes in recent weeks, Stellantis NV’s luxury brand Maserati is also dealing with declining sales and subpar marketing.
Carlos Tavares recently alluded to the legendary Italian brand’s bleak future by saying, “We’ll shut them down if they don’t make money.” We cannot afford to have unprofitable brands. That’s how easy it is.” Okay, so he was talking about all the companies that fall under the massive corporate umbrella, not specifically Maserati.
Maserati faces an uphill struggle, even though Stellantis said in a news release that all 14 firms are staying put and reaffirmed its 2021 promise to invest in all brands for ten years. It must continue a multi-year process of extending and updating its lineup to increase sales. The MC20 Folgore will be released in 2025 after the GranCabrio Folgore, which is entirely electric, was unveiled earlier this year. A zero-emission Quattroporte car will debut in 2028, while a large electric SUV will come in 2027. In December 2023, Maserati stopped producing its gasoline-powered Ghibli, Levante, and Quattroporte sedans to reduce costs and eliminate underperforming models.
According to data, Maserati sales for the third quarter of 2023 were 60 percent lower than those for the entire year, down more than 58 percent. Tavares attributed Maserati’s downfall to aggressive dealer discounting and poor brand positioning. It will be challenging to navigate the sea-change dilemma of the current electrification of the automobile industry, even though the brand can concentrate on cost-cutting measures and lowering its model portfolio to increase its profitability and luxury appeal. As evidenced by BYD’s impressive global performance, China has emerged as the leading market for EV sales.
According to data released Monday, 9 December 2024, the rapidly expanding automaker again increased its market share in China. According to industry figures, BYD’s share of the global largest vehicle market increased from 12.5 percent to 17 percent in November. Additionally, BYD is on pace to surpass Ford and Honda, and its annual goal is to manufacture 4 million automobiles.
During the first nine months of 2023, Maserati sold only about 20,600 automobiles. According to Stellantis’ most recent official figures, that number has drastically decreased to about 8,600 as of this year. Due to that 58.3 percent drop, the legendary Italian automaker faces a bleak future.
In a recent Top Gear interview, Tavares revealed that Maserati’s woes are due to poor marketing. “Maserati is in the red. The reason is marketing,” he said. The Maserati brand must be clearly positioned, and the storytelling should be better. The brand is not just about sports cars; it’s about gran turismo, quality of life, dolce vita, and technology.”
There is far less demand in China for Maserati’s luxury goods. Maserati must juggle several balls to keep the show going, including expanding its lineup, developing more EV-focused cars, adjusting its marketing approach, and more.
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