Maserati's complicated future, between Italy, China and... Barcelona?

Maserati is one of the most renowned automobile manufacturers in Italian history. Founded by the brothers Alfieri, Bindo, Carlo, Ettore, and Ernesto Maserati in Bologna in 1914 (it uses a trident as the brand emblem in reference to a famous statue in the capital of Emilia-Romagna), Maserati positioned itself from the outset as a leading brand. So much so that the brand's racing division has a long history of competition, with two Formula 1 world championships to its name (1953 and 1957) and six consecutive GT or Grand Touring world championships between 2005 and 2010. It has had nine victories and contested over 100 Grands Prix.

The legendary Italian brand, which had installed its factory and headquarters in Modena since the 1930s and 1940s, was bought by Citroën in 1968, in one of the most surprising and audacious moves in the automotive world, but the Citroën oil crisis announced the liquidation of the brand. The Italian government of the defunct Christian Democracy then intervened to save the company and its workers, sponsoring a process of transfer of ownership and management to the Italian-Argentine businessman Alejandro de Tomasso. The venture with De Tomasso was also not entirely successful and in 1984 Maserati signed a joint venture with the controversial American businessman Lee Iacocca, then CEO of Chrysler, in one of the most bizarre moves in Italian industrial history of the 1980s.

The Italian government, in need of good news and seeking to promote the interests of the national industry during a highly turbulent period in its history, including the years of the fight against the Mafia and the assassinations of Judges Falcone and Borsellino, mediated the sale of Maserati to Gianni Agnelli's Fiat Group, which met certain conditions. In 1993, the Fiat Group formalized its purchase of Maserati, which immediately placed it below Ferrari, its great historical rival, in its product portfolio. Maserati never felt comfortable as a Ferrari brand, and in 2005, Fiat decided to separate it from its eternal rival.

From success to failure in just ten years

The new independent Maserati revived spectacularly at the beginning of the 21st century, reaching new heights with some of its most iconic models, such as the Quattroporte, Gran Turismo, Ghibli, and the Levante SUV, which were planned and implemented between 2010 and 2020, coinciding with the centenary. Thanks to these commercial successes, Maserati went from selling around 10,000 units in 2013 to more than 75,000 units in 2018, generating a large commercial margin and significant profits for the Fiat Group.

But a new merger, this time between the PSA group (Peugeot-Citroen-Opel) and the FCA group (Fiat-Chrysler), cut short Maserati's progression, diluting it in the market as just another of the group's many brands. Added to all this is the fact that Maserati's potential customer base is not a buyer very interested in electric cars, and the new management of the Stellantis group opted in 2020 for the total electrification of Maserati, ignoring its potential market and allowing the models that had sustained its growth to age. Stellantis's original goal of making Maserati an electric car brand by 2025 has become an unmet milestone and has slowed the brand's growth. Currently, Maserati only sells a compact SUV called the Grecale, which is failing to make a name for itself in the market, and the MC20 sports car, which remains a niche product with little commercial success. To give an idea of the seriousness of the brand's commercial situation, it is necessary to explain that the Grecale sells around 6,000 units annually, while only around 200 units of the MC20 are manufactured each year.

Last fiscal year, Maserati closed its accounts with losses exceeding €260 million, a significant blow that calls into question the Italian brand's continued presence within Stellantis, where it has neither the space nor the opportunity to generate synergies with any of the group's other brands. Maserati's natural positioning makes it inappropriate for it to share synergies and mechanical and structural elements with other group manufacturers, such as Peugeot, Opel, and Fiat, for example, resulting in a mismatch with the aspirational brands Alfa Romeo, DS, and Abarth, among others.

Stellantis has already received some initial approaches from Chinese companies interested in acquiring Maserati. The Chinese manufacturer that has most insistently inquired about the Italian brand and has initiated preliminary talks with Stellantis has been Chery, the parent company of Ebro (together with EV Motors), Jaecoo, and Omoda, which occupies the former Nissan facilities in the Zona Franca and Montcada i Reixac. Chery's roadmap would also involve acquiring a former Maserati automobile plant in the town of Grugliasco, on the outskirts of Turin, to manufacture (or rather assemble) cars for the European market following the model developed in Barcelona. However, it does not rule out acquiring this historic brand to enhance its prestige and take a step forward in prestige. If negotiations for the sale of Maserati were to come to a successful conclusion, Chery could propose that one (or more) Maserati models could be manufactured at the Zona Franca and Montcada i Reixac facilities, sharing platforms, engines, and mechanical and technological elements with the most luxurious SUVs from Ebro, Ja.

For sale to the highest bidder

By now, it's clear to everyone that the Agnelli family, now headed by John Elkann, has no intention of letting one of the great pillars of its heritage go to waste at any price, and that it may prefer to induce an assisted coma for the brand rather than see it shine under the umbrella of another automotive group. Added to this is the complicated situation of the Stellantis group, now without a single executive at the helm and facing capitalization issues, a fall in its share price, and a decline in profits and operating margins.

The Agnellis decided to separate Ferrari from the rest of the FCA group in 2020, before finalizing the merger with the PSA group, thus keeping the Prancing Horse brand separate from the group and maintaining 80% of Ferrari's shareholding under their control. A real rescue option would involve an agreement between Ferrari and the Stellantis group to purchase Maserati, making it a subsidiary of the Maranello brand once again, and sharing structures, engines, and technologies between the two manufacturers. The Agnellis believe Maserati should be the Italian Porsche, and that positioning the brand alongside Ferrari could be a good industrial and commercial solution. It could also help improve the complicated relations with the Italian government, which have been somewhat strained in recent years due to the relocation of some models, such as the electric Fiat 500, which is manufactured. Placing Maserati under Ferrari's umbrella would also allow them to continue sharing platforms with Stellantis group models, but also save on supplier costs by placing large orders with the Ferraris. In other words, the Agnellis' idea is to position Maserati as the sports brand that can make functional vehicles for everyday use without sacrificing the luxury and capability that the trident brand can provide.

But the commercial, industrial, and financial situation of the Stellantis Group is more complicated than it might seem at first glance. The industrial group has already announced a €1.6 billion cut in investments in Maserati, and this week It has emerged that Stellantis has asked the American consulting firm McKinsey A report to study the most profitable way to proceed with the sale of Maserati and Alfa Romeo. As we've already mentioned, the Chinese group Chery has already expressed interest in a possible purchase of the Trident brand and the Grugliasco plant facilities in order to add a European luxury brand to its portfolio, imitating the move made a few years ago by the also Chinese company. Geely with the purchase of the European manufacturer Lotus and Volvo, which has allowed them to establish themselves in a privileged position in the market. Maserati is currently Chery's main objective for its future plans in Europe, which in the case of the Zona Franca and Montcada i Reixac plants are expected to produce more than 150,000 vehicles annually by 2029. It is the great future alternative for the brand with the trident if a possible future does not materialize.