Stellantis Ceo Says Maserati Is Still Not For Sale

Maserati

Speculation astir Stellantis trading Maserati has been rampant for a while now, but according to new Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa, nan storied-yet-troubled trident marque is absolutely, positively, astir decidedly not connected nan block. Here's Bloomberg, which reported connected interviews that Filosa gave starring up to nan Munich car show:

Stellantis is attached to each its brands, which correspond a competitory advantage for nan group, including Maserati, Filosa told Il Sole 24 Ore. The institution hired McKinsey & Co. for strategical proposal connected Maserati and chap Italian marque Alfa Romeo, amid mounting pressures from Donald Trump's escalating waste and acquisition war...

Filosa continued by stressing that while Maserati isn't for sale, Stellantis needs to fig retired what products are champion suited to nan marque's future. That said, let's return a person look astatine that full McKinsey facet and effort to discern what mightiness really beryllium going connected pinch Stellantis' embattled luxury brand.

Stellantis

Stellantis brought McKinsey successful earlier this year, and almost instantly nan media rumor mill kicked into gear. The car manufacture wide is gossipy but not very scoopy, truthful erstwhile we started to spot stories successful nan morganatic business press, it was beautiful evident that Stellantis was testing nan waters pinch immoderate strategical chatter to spot if anybody mightiness want to return Maserati (and Alfa) disconnected its hands. Secondarily, Stellantis besides seemed to beryllium toying pinch a Maserati/Alfa spinoff, a la Ferrari successful 2015 and an thought that has been kicking astir since Sergio Marchionne was still live and moving Fiat Chrysler Automobiles.

Maserati is simply a existent headache for Stellantis. It mislaid almost $300 cardinal past twelvemonth and has seen income diminution by 50 percent. With each of its accumulation successful Italy but complete a 3rd of its buyers successful nan U.S. (according to Bloomberg), it's going to get killed by tariffs. The challenge, however, is uncovering a dealmaker someplace successful nan world who wants to put what's basal to hole nan marque while astatine nan aforesaid clip not unloading Maserati astatine a desperate, fire-sale price.

Maserati

It sounds arsenic though Maserati mightiness much aggressively prosecute a sell-less-but-sell-for-more attack that hinges connected extended customization of its vehicles. This is simply a inclination successful nan business, 1 that's been successfully exploited by Ferrari and Bentley. Basically, you springiness up connected being a much stylish replacement to higher-end BMWs and Mercedes and attraction alternatively connected making your cars costlier and much exclusive done nan summation of unsocial features and nan improvement of typical editions.

In different words, less sales, but higher profits connected nan income that you do make. If Maserati does spell this way, it's astir apt because McKinsey and Stellantis – and particularly Chairman John Elkann – person decided that nan marque has capable worth remaining to beryllium leveraged, but not capable presently to pull a precocious capable waste price. Frankly, assessing Maserati's "correct" worth is rather tricky correct now, arsenic revenues fell to astir $1 cardinal successful 2024 from astir $2.5 cardinal successful 2023 and nan marque is facing those aforementioned tariff headwinds. Discounts would person to beryllium applied to a number moreover arsenic conjectural as, say, $3-4 billion.

Gone (mostly) are nan days erstwhile awesome car brands went connected waste and up-and-comers successful nan manufacture seized connected nan uncommon opportunity to trim deals. Failing nan emergence of an eager and well-capitalized finance group, it surely looks for illustration Stellantis is now stuck pinch Maserati, perchance forever.