It’s kind of obvious that the Levante SUV is for Maserati a pure money-making exercise, and not so much a celebration of what the brand really stands for. Sergio Marchionne, the boss of the Fiat-Chrysler group, is reassuring naysayers that he thinks the high-rider will substantially round out their profits.
Why is Marchionne feeling the need to confirm the surefire success of the Levante? Well, because Maserati’s earnings fell by 30 percent in Q2 2015, caused by a fall in the number of vehicles sold around the world by some 13 percent.
For the first six months of 2015, Maserati registered a 11 percent decrease in sales and a 17 percent fall in revenues.
According to Automotive News Europe, Marchionne was quoted at the as saying “We need to wait until then,” referring to the mid-2016 launch of the first Maserati SUV.
However, he is countered by analysts who seem far more skeptical. Arndt Ellinghorst, of Evecore ISI, said “we appreciate that the brand is waiting for the launch of its new SUV model next year. However, if Maserati serves as a template for FCA’s rejuvenation efforts at Alfa Romeo it is worth noting that Maserati’s own renaissance seems to have run out of steam after just 24 months.”
Marchionne’s optimism is strange, given that his earlier plans did include the continually rising Chinese demand for imported luxury cars. Now that the trend is changing, the group “is no longer able to extract a significant margin for Maserati and Jeep models exported to China.”
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