Trident in distress
03/19/2025
It was to be expected: Maserati is once again " performing" below expectations and this after the brand from the Stellantis group was still in the black in 2023. The large V8 models have been shelved as of 2024; what remains are V6 engines - admittedly, the Nettuno is a dream engine - and corresponding electric models, including a convertible. After all, the electric GranCabrio Folgore is one of the first of its kind.
However, with just over 13,000 cars with the trident at the front delivered for 2024, the result is sobering. In 2017, Maserati sold over 51,500 cars - a record. In 2023 - after a coronavirus-related slump - the figure was 26,600 cars. Since then, the Ghibli and Quattroporte saloons are history and the large Levante SUV has also been discontinued. Only the Grecale as a mid-range SUV - based on Alfa Romeo's successful "Giorgio platform" (Giulia and Stelvio) - and the GranTurismo coupé and the aforementioned GranCabrio remain. The Grecale is powered by a four-cylinder engine and the aforementioned Nettuno V6 engine, while the GranTurismo and GranCabrio only have the V6. All three models also have an electric drive under the E designation Folgore. The unanimously praised MC20 mid-range sports car brings prestige, but hardly any significant sales. A dilemma.
And instead of the originally planned financial injection of 1.8 billion for the brand, Stellanti's CFO Natalie Knight said in the middle of last summer that the company might look for a potential buyer for Maserati.
Maserati is not even Stellantis's only vale of tears. Anyone thinking about the fate of Lancia and Alfa Romeo is simply not so sure how serious they are about looking after these brands. Certainly, very successful models can sometimes be conjured up from the kit, and sometimes it is even the case that a brand produces an even more attractive range from an already good basis. An apt example of this is the Spanish up-and-comer Cupra from the VW Group, which regularly launches far more emotional and aesthetically successful models on the usual VW platforms than Volkswagen manages.
Well, Stellantis is clearly not succeeding. On the contrary: instead of taking care of its traditional and classic brands, the French are trying to force their way into the premium market with a generic brand with no real raison d'être - DS Automobiles. At the same time, Lancia is being revived only half-heartedly and Alfa Romeo is being fobbed off with showroom fodder for the dealers, which is a mockery of the true Cuore Sportivo. To present an Alfa Romeo Tonale on a Jeep platform that was already 12 years old when it was launched borders on frivolity.
But perhaps I should return to the classics, where the nostalgia-tinged view casts the problems and bad decisions of the time in a somewhat dimmed light. Because one thing is clear, the problems in the industry today are not all recent. Some brands simply had the misfortune of being led into near obsolescence earlier by helpless managers, even if they still exist today. Let's hope that Maserati is not one of those whose days are numbered or that it will continue to exist as an electrified zombie of Far Eastern origin - Lotus sends its regards, the production of classic sports cars in Hethel has long been regarded as little more than a museum operation to preserve the company's tradition. The music for Colin Chapman's legacy is now played in Wuhan, China.
Picture: Maserati GranCabrio 490 CV - GranCabrio One of One @The I.C.E. St. Moritz ©Maserati
