
In a series of disturbing news items for fans of MaseratiStellantis could announce the imminent closure of the Innovation Lab research and development center, located in Modena, Italy. The Maserati Innovation Lab, a symbol of Italian technological ingenuity and excellence, will soon cease operations, with the transfer of its 400 employees to the offices of the Maserati via Citro Menotti plant. This information was provided by the Gazzetta di Modena and Alberto Zanetti, secretary of the Uilm Modena trade union.
Inaugurated in September 2015, the Maserati Innovation Lab was a state-of-the-art center dedicated to technological research, the development and planning of new Maserati models. Equipped with the latest-generation Dynamic Simulator with DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology, the Static Simulator and laboratories specialized in user experience development, this center has played a crucial role in the design and optimization of the brand's vehicles.
Digital processes, combining hardware and software, have enabled realistic and accurate simulation of vehicles under development, reducing costs and lead times while maintaining Maserati quality. The Innovation Lab has been instrumental in creation of iconic models such as the MC20 and the Folgore range of electric motors.
The closure of the Maserati Innovation Lab is part a restructuring plan of Stellantis. The company announced that employees would now work 50 % from home, and that the rest would be relocated to offices at the Modena plant, via Ciro Menotti. The move comes against a backdrop of lay-offs in response to Maserati's economic difficulties.
The unions have expressed their concerns about the decision. Alberto Zanetti, secretary of Uilm Modena and Reggio Emilia, confirmed that the closure of the center raised doubts about Stellantis' commitment to Maserati's future. The gradual reduction in staff numbers, from 800 to 400 engineers, as well as the 173 voluntary redundancies already agreed, testify to the scale of the challenges facing the brand.
The closure of the Innovation Lab raises questions about the future of Maserati in Modena. Although production of the MC20 will continue, along with its Cielo, GT2, MCXtrema and soon Folgore variants, Maserati's global sales have fallen significantly, representing just one-fifth of those in 2017. In the first quarter of 2024, sales in Italy fell by more than 20 % compared with the previous year.
Maserati's management has reaffirmed its commitment to Italian production and investment in the Atelier, an area dedicated to car customization, which should open by the end of the year. However, demand for the MC20 has dropped by 75 %, raising questions. After the sale of the Grugliasco plant, The closing of the Innovation Lab is undoubtedly intended to improve the brand's profitability within the Stellantis Group.
Afterwards, the FIAT group let it happen, as did the Agnelli family (despite having a majority shareholding).
What surprises me since the merger, normally the president of STELLANTIS should have been impartial. Instead, I get the impression that PEUGEOT has bought out everyone and that TAVARES is calling the shots.
When is it going to break?
A majority does not necessarily mean power. That's what many people have trouble understanding. In the case of this "merger", it's nothing less than a takeover by PSA. In this case, the Agnelli's are collecting the lion's share of dividends thanks to their majority shareholding, but they don't have an ounce of decision-making power in the group. The proof is that the Board of Directors is either majority French, or made up of ex-PSA members. The Agnelli family have clearly offered the keys to FCA to PSA, so that they can continue to pile up cash in peace, knowing that in the years to come, if they don't merge, FCA will be wrecked by its cruel lack of investment and product plans. Pardon the fanaticism, but that's the reality. FCA had been looking for a partner to save its future for years. First VAG, then Geely, then Renault, and finally PSA. At no time would a group in top form allow itself to be absorbed in this way.
And that's the end of Grandpa Giovanni's FIAT. Today's Agnelli family barely represents half of the Exor family group. Even then, decisions are made with total disregard for any historical family ties. It's all financial. Elkann is just a businessman, and a friend of a French minister at that. No wonder the Italian government is feeling the heat.
FCA is finished. Just like Opel and Citroën, when these brands were swallowed up by Peugeot and their R&D was dissolved and pooled with Peugeot's. Only Stellantis' USA division will remain at least independent in terms of design, since Peugeot had no experience of vehicles there. Only Stellantis' USA division will remain at least a little independent in terms of design, since Peugeot had no experience of vehicles there. But for the rest of the world, for FIAT, Lancia, Alfa, and Abarth, it will be pure PSA recarrosed with fine marketing to make people believe that Italian designers designed and conceived the cars...
Italian automotive know-how is being dismantled.