Maserati sales plummet due to dealers discounting too much?

(Dan Tri Newspaper) - CEO Carlos Tavares believes that Maserati lacks a clear positioning and its "brand story is not what it expected".

Maserati sold approximately 20,600 cars in the first nine months of 2023, but by the same period this year, that number had plummeted to just around 8,600, according to the latest official data from Stellantis, the group that owns the sports car brand. That's a 58.3% drop, leading to Davide Grasso losing his CEO position.

Now, Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares is criticizing Maserati's aggressive marketing strategy and dealerships for drastically lowering prices on its models, which he believes is damaging the brand's value.

Maserati dealerships' continuous price reductions are believed to have negatively impacted the brand's appeal (Photo: Maserati).

This isn't the first time Mr. Tavares has criticized Maserati's marketing. Back in September, before CEO Grasso was fired, he made similar comments. Currently, the company is trying to "adjust costs" to prevent further declines.

Cost cutting has become a cornerstone of Stellantis's Maserati recovery plan, a point highlighted when Stellantis announced its third-quarter results. Accordingly, the company reported a 60% drop in sales compared to the third quarter of 2023.

"Maserati's sales remain significantly lower than the same period last year, despite the introduction of several important new products in 2024, particularly the all-electric variants of its luxury SUVs and coupes. Maserati will operate with a significantly reduced product portfolio in the near future, following the discontinuation of three models at the end of 2023. Therefore, the main focus will be on cost management to bring profitability back to the company," the company stated.

According to Top Gear, Tavares still believes that marketing is the big issue here.

"Maserati is losing money. The reason is its marketing. The Maserati brand is not clearly positioned, and the brand story is not on the right track. The Maserati brand is not just associated with sports cars, but also with gran turismo (GT) cars, which represent quality of life, a sweet life, and technology," he said.

Mr. Tavares also criticized Chinese dealerships for wanting to sell cars at significant discounts.

"We've said we don't want you to ruin our brand. But if your marketing isn't good and your dealers think you need to sell at a discount, then that's a problem," he said.

Unfortunately for Stellantis, this is just one of many problems they are trying to solve. The company saw sales drop 20% in the third quarter (including many brands besides Maserati). They are also in the process of suing their fifth supplier this year and have temporarily suspended production of models such as the Durango and Grand Cherokee.

Source: https://dantri.com.vn/o-to-xe-may/doanh-so-maserati-lao-doc-do-dai-ly-giam-gia-qua-nhieu-20241106170537842.htm