While it looks precarious for some of Stellantis’ brands, Maserati apparently is not on the automaker’s hit list.
Last week, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares made waves throughout the automotive industry — and media outlets covering the industry, by extension — by saying his company could kill off brands in the portfolio that aren’t making money. Among those folks watching this news every day, some brands immediately sprang to mind, including Maserati. However, Stellantis confirmed this week it would not part with the Italian marque, even though its performance has been flagging through the first half of 2024, making it one of the brands we thought it might jettison.
Here’s some context: Through June 2024 (the end of the ‘first-half’), Maserati’s sales dropped by more than half compared to the same time period in 2023. The brand reported an 82 million Euro ($88 million) operating loss in the same period. So, it’s lagging behind its rivals and, by Tavares’ definition, is a Stellantis brand that isn’t making money. It’s not as if Maserati has a terribly aging lineup, either: It has the new Grecale SUV and the new GranTurismo/GranCabrio models, the MC20 Cielo and a range of “Folgore” electric models. There are a couple older models in the lineup that Maserati has been slow to replace, like the Ghibli and the Quattroporte, but there’s a decent amount of fresh product as well (more on that in a moment). That said, people just don’t seem to be snapping up Maseratis at the moment.
Nevertheless, AutoNews originally reported on July 30 that Stellantis “has no intention ” of selling Maserati or folding it in with other Italian brands, as it’s experienced before. Over the past few decades, Maserati has technically been under Alfa Romeo (as part of the Fiat Group) and Ferrari.
“Stellantis restates unwavering commitment to Maserati’s bright future as the unique luxury brand of the 14 Stellantis brands,” the company said in its statement this week. It’s worth noting, too, that Alfa Romeo — an Italian luxury brand — is also one of those fourteen brands that forms the current Stellantis N.V. portfolio.
With that statement both reaffirming Maserati’s place and saying its one of the fourteen brands, you could reasonably infer that Stellantis isn’t necessarily looking to cut any of its other brands at the moment either. It’s only come out in fervent support of Maserati, though, securing its short-term future, at the very least. Long-term prospects could still change, as they did from the time former Fiat Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne laid out a “five-year plan” in 2018, to when execs and shareholders made the decision to merge FCA and French automaker PSA Group to create Stellantis in 2021.
Taking into account Tavares’ earlier comments though, some brands may still have a tenuous or non-existent future in the U.S. market. Those include brands like Fiat and Chrysler — both of which currently sell a single vehicle each and have experienced flagging sales in recent years and months.
As ever, the ultimate answer to those comments and this week’s statement boils down to “we’ll see”. But if you’re a Maserati fan, there’s good news in that it doesn’t appear to be on the way out anytime soon.
