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MODENA – Maserati’s change plan aims to free the luxury brand Stellantis from being a “slave to volumes” that has weighed on quality, its CEO Davide Grasso said on Wednesday, presenting a convertible version of its sporty MC20.
Maserati, which returned to operating profit last year, delivered 24,200 cars in 2021, 7.3% more than in 2020. That still leaves it far from the peak of 2017, when it sold 51,500 cars.
“This was a success in terms of numbers, not necessarily for customers,” Grasso said, adding that defect rates at Maserati were at the time higher than the average in the luxury and premium markets.
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“You’re entering a vicious circle of unsold cars and growing discounts,” he said. “We weren’t good enough with the quality, the new powertrains and the infotainment.”
Grasso said Maserati’s performance will continue to improve this year and 2023 in terms of market share, products, revenue and margins.
The brand has recently unveiled its new Grecale SUV, which will be available in all-electric version (BEV) in 2023. Next year Maserati will also present new versions of its Gran Turisme and Gran Cabrio models, and plans to do all the its range. electrified in 2025.
Sales director Bernard Loire said sales could exceed 30,000 units this year, though that was not a goal.
“It’s a projection based on our current performance,” he said.
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Loire said China, Maserati’s second-largest market after the United States, was being hit by an ongoing blockade, but comments from Grecale’s initial orders were very positive.
“We see a much better second half,” he added.
He said Grecale would allow Maserati to compete in a segment, which is worth about 40% of the luxury market, where the brand has not been present so far.
With deliveries expected to begin in the first quarter of 2023, the new MC20 Cielo Retractable Rigid Hood – ‘Sky’ in Italian – will contribute to Maserati sales only in 2023.
Equipped with a six-cylinder, three-liter engine and 630 horsepower, for a top speed of more than 320 km per hour, will cost 260,000 euros ($ 277,000), 30,000 euros more than its brother coupe MC20. This is higher than the entry-level models of Ferrari and Aston Martin.
The combined capacity of MC20 and MC20 Cielo, both produced in Modena, northern Italy, amounts to about 1,400 units per year, with flexibility to adapt production between the two models.
Its BEV versions are expected for 2025. ($ 1 = 0.9381 euros) (Report by Giulio Piovaccari Edited by Keith Weir)