Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will spin off Ferrari later this year, which means the luxury sports car manufacturer will not be included in the Italian-American automaker’s sales and financial results.
With that comes a problem though, as Ferrari contributes significantly to FCA’s profits. However, Sergio Marchionne is confident that Maserati can play a similar role. The Italian luxury car manufacturer will soon add an SUV and coupe to the model lineup, as well as open new US dealerships.
“Maserati is very important,” Marchionne was quoted as saying by Bloomberg. After the Ferrari spinoff, “Maserati becomes the most coveted, exclusive brand that we have,” he added.
So far, everything seems to be going according to plan. Maserati’s deliveries more than doubled in 2014 to 36,448 units, and in the first half of this year they increased by 13 percent compared to the same period last year. However, first-quarter profit shrank 39 percent to $40 million, a result FCA attributes to a slowdown in China.
Introduced in 2013, Maserati’s $69,800 entry-level Ghibli sedan sold well at first in the United States, but in recent months dealers have been offering incentives. According to Autodata Corp., discounts rose to $9,602 a vehicle in May, almost triple the level in February.
This does not bode well for a brand that prides for its exclusivity. Still, Maserati has a lot of potential. While it can’t boast 13 percent margins as Ferrari, its 10 percent rate is however triple that of Fiat Chrysler’s margin overall.
Marchionne sees Maserati as the cornerstone of his €48 billion ($52 billion) plan to turn Maserati, Alfa Romeo and Jeep into global brands and boost net income fivefold.
The executive has vowed to boost Maserati margins to 15 percent and double global sales to 75,000 by 2018. It may be an overly ambitious plan, but considering Maserati is preparing to launch its first ever SUV, the Levante, and expand the number of US dealers from 104 to 125 by the end of 2015, chances are he’ll make it.
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