Alexandre
Is Stellantis finally waking up to the fact that Maserati aren't as good as you'd hoped? As we reported yesterday our concerns about Stellantis' management of MaseratiSince the beginning of January, the trident brand has announced two changes in strategic positions, in communications and marketing, and in sales.
First, Giovanni Perosino is now in charge of communications and marketing. He worked for Lancia, then FCA with Sergio Marchionne. In 2019 he joined the Volkswagen Group to take up the position of Lamborghini Sales Director at the end of 2019. He returns to Maserati in 2024 to take charge of communications and marketing. These are two strategic positions, since marketing studies the market and the clientele, and communications has to get the word out that the brand exists, either in competition or with the launch of new models.
He succeeds Paolo Tubito, who had a long career with Nike. and appointed to the post at the beginning of 2020 by Stellantis... as if a long experience in sports shoes hasn't been effective in the luxury car market. Let's be honest, Maserati has no business in Formula E, many (former) Maserati customers no longer understand the brand's positioning, and even when there are new models, there's no communication/advertising to publicize them.
Second major change: Luca Delfino appointed Sales Director. He has been with Maserati since 2007, and has held numerous positions in Europe, North America, the Middle East, Asia... Perhaps he'll have something to say about the brand's overpriced positioning? David Grasso, CEO of Maserati, says "he will play a crucial role in contributing to Maserati's success at this challenging and exciting time for our industry".
He succeeds Bernard Loire, a Frenchman appointed by Stellantis in early 2020 who, despite his long experience at Ford, FCA, Nissan and Mitsubishi, doesn't seem to have convinced with mixed 2023 results and a difficult 2024 ahead. It's good to have set ambitious sales targetsBut we also have to provide the means to achieve them.
There's no smoke without fire Between the drop in production at Mirafiori in 2023 and the drop in orders for the MC20 in 2024, suspension of Quattroporte developmentThese two announcements in key positions follow disappointing results. Italians Giovanni Perosino and Luca Delfino may be the right people who know the brand well, but aren't they coming too late? David Grasso is still CEO of Maserati, but if concrete announcements are not made in 2024, it will probably be his last year.
Too late no, but it was time for FCA to regain control and this proves that this merger was a failure when an alliance would have been much better. Which proves that I wasn't wrong in the first place.
All FCA has to do is keep the Giorgio 1 & 2 platforms and the Large to produce suitable products, and let PSA make cars with Fiat and Abarth, or even a few Lancias.
It was time for Elkhan to put things right.
They would have been better off dropping the Ypsilon and leaving Abarth to recapture the market from mini.
Like this
Sporty and Premium for Lancia with V6 F160 Maserati
Sporty and sporty for Alfa with its V6 690T
Sport and luxury for Maserati with its Nettuno V6
And all this especially in hybrid form.
It's better to have a little but good quality and financial input than a lot and little financial input.
You have to manage supply and demand, and Ferrari and Lexus have understood this, especially with their golden customer service and after-sales service!
Alfa and Maserati prices are acceptable, even too low for Maserati, and Lancia should be at the same level as Alfa.
Maserati has suffered 2 monumental errors on the part of FCA, the 1st of which was to have taken the management of Maserati away from Ferrari and the 2nd of which was not to have produced and developed the Afieri, which was so acclaimed by the media that I'm sure it would have been a huge success. It's almost as if they sabotaged themselves on purpose, and with Stellantis it's likely to be a sign of things to come if he persists in his stubborn focus on electrification!
From the start, I've believed that Alfa should have been linked to Maserati.
In sports, Alfa (real Alfa, not Ferrari engine) in F1 and Maserati in WEC.
Ditto for the showrooms, the two brands together, not what I see when I go to put my Giulia in for servicing: Alfa, Fiat, Jeep, Abarth, Opel, Kia and Suzuki.
I think Ferrari should have taken Alfa in hand and Maserati should have regained its independence, while being attached to Exor and leaving it in charge of Lancia.
This would have allowed Fiat to take care of Abarth, to see Ferrari/Alfa showrooms and Maserati Lancia showrooms.
Leaving it to Ferrari to develop their V6 Alfa engine (690T), the F160 for Lancia (the last Maserati before the Nettuno) and the Nettuno for Maserati by switching to hybrids would have enabled them to find the right clientele.
It's true that we need to put Alfa back into endurance racing under the tutelage of Ferrari in Hypercar/Maserati in GT2/Lancia GT3 in motorsport, but not in F1 because that would require a substantial investment.