Alexandre
On October 10, 2024, a wind of change blew over the brands Alfa Romeo and Maseratiwith the official announcement of the appointment of Santo Ficili as their head. This new leadership marks a turning point for these two flagships of the Italian automotive industry, after years of challenges and renewed ambitions. On the occasion of the Paris Motor Show, Ficili shared his first impressions and revealed a few hints about the future of Maserati and Alfa Romeo.
Ficili returns to his roots
Santo Ficili is no stranger to the Italian automotive world. On the strength of his 40 years' experience with the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) groupPrior to the creation of Stellantis, Ficili contributed to the commercial management of a number of Italian brands, including Fiat, Lancia, Alfa Romeo and Jeep. By taking over from Davide Grasso at Maserati and Jean-Philippe Imparato at Alfa Romeo, Ficili is building on a dynamic of continuity, while bringing a renewed vision to these two historic brands.
"I am absolutely honored to take the reins of Maserati and Alfa Romeo," said Ficili in an interview with Quattroruote at the Paris Motor Show. "My mission is clear: to take these brands to where they deserve to be, with models that embody Italian excellence."
Alfa Romeo: consolidating recent successes
Alfa Romeo faces a major challenge. Under the direction of Jean-Philippe Imparato, the brand has successfully launched models such as the Tonale, the 33 Stradale and the Junior. For Ficili, the aim is now to build on this momentum while strengthening the brand's sporting heritage. "Imparato has done a splendid job, and my mission is to continue in this direction with the planned launches: the new Stelvio, Giulia and Tonale will arrive, one a year. Alfa Romeo must remain true to its roots while responding to new market expectations", he explained.
Alfa Romeo seeks to maintain its status as a premium sports brand, and Ficili seems aware of the importance of balancing tradition and innovation, especially with the coming challenges of electrifying models.
Maserati: the return of luxury
At Maserati, Ficili faces a more delicate situation. Despite iconic models such as the MC20, the trident brand is struggling to regain its lustre. The end of production of the Ghibli, Quattroporte and Levante has left a gap in the product range. "Maserati must return to the luxury segment where it deserves to be," asserted Ficili.
Marketing is another area where Ficili recognizes an urgent need for turnaround. "If marketing fails, sales and economic results don't follow," he stressed, adding that Stellantis to work on positioning, pricing and dealer engagement to revitalize Maserati.
Possible synergies between the two brands
Although Ficili does not envisage a complete merger of the Alfa Romeo and Maserati identities, he does not close the door on the possibility of potential synergies. "Maserati and Alfa Romeo have different positions: Maserati is a luxury brand, while Alfa is focused on premium sport. However, we can exploit smart synergies, as we've already done with the Giorgio platform, shared by the Grecale and Stelvio."
A future focused on electrification
Faced with a market increasingly confused by the multitude of options - thermal, hybrid, electric - Ficili insists on the need to guide customers towards the choices that will enable Stellantis to meet the European Union's emission targets. "The transition to electric vehicles is unavoidable. But we must ensure that this transition is accompanied by a range of products adapted to each market", he added.
Good luck to the new CEO of Maserati and Stellantis.
What matters is that Alfa Romeo and Maserati retain their Italian soul and uniqueness, something that Tavares has failed to understand with his Peugeot products imposed everywhere, even the horrible PureTech engine. And as for electric cars, it's normal to find the 156 hp electric motor in the Junior, already seen everywhere at Stellantis.
You don't buy an Alfa Romeo to find the same mill seen elsewhere, and under the hood of French movers!
Ficili won't change a thing as far as AR is concerned.
He will pilot the program already planned by Stellantis and Imparato, who remains his boss.
Thermal and electric engines will remain PSA's.
This brand is reduced to rebadging PSA products.
At most, Italian engineers will be allowed to "Alfa-ize" the steering and handling to maintain the sporty image.
of the brand.
As for Maserati, no marketing plan will be able to hide the fact that the product plan is nil compared to its target competitors (no sedans, SUVs and coupes that are competitive in terms of technology, performance and unrealistic prices).
Now I hope I'm wrong.
This is the second Maserati renaissance we've heard about, except that Maserati died a long time ago, and only in the suburbs does the brand appeal to people who want to get married in something other than a Lamborghini,
Seriously, no one is interested in Italian fake luxury anymore, and they need to be told that putting tridents all over a body with chrome is not the way to make alpha luxury like Maserati.
For Alfa Romeo and Maserati, we need to continue with internal combustion engines. I'm an Italian who's passionate about these brands and I still own Italian cars, but there's no point in forcing customers to go electric, because like me, they'll turn away from electrics, keep their internal combustion models and never change their vehicles again.
A breath of optimism for this Alfa Romeo/Maserati partnership.
Here's hoping for a long-lasting comeback for affordable sports cars from alfa Romeo and luxury cars from maserati... fingers crossed.
"Synergies". The word is out... Not sure it bodes well for Maserati.
Ich kann nur über Maserati ein Statement abgeben. Maserati steht für underststement. Wem ein Ferrari zu extrem ist, greift zum Maserati. Schade das die V8 Motoren nicit mehr verbaut werden. Ford macht es in den USA ja vor und bleibt dem Ganzen treu... Auch ich werde den alten 139er Baureihen treu bleiben und meine Modelle behalten. Aufgeladene V6 sind nicht vergleichbar mit dem 4.7er aus Maranello... Eine Hybrid Variante ist ja sehr gut, gerade für Wohngebiete um den V8 erst später zu zünden... Fahrspaß bringen die Elektro Varianten auf jeden Fall... Aber mit Benzin im Blut, wer es wirklich lebt, der möchte den V8 Sound und das Auto mit all seinen Vibrationen spüren....
Let's hope this gentleman really does follow in our footsteps.
And don't let our beautiful Italians become French😈
I'm thinking about it... I've just made the connection between this news and others that are circulating about Tavares' latest statements on the sale of certain group brands and plant closures...
What if it was Alfa-Romeo and Maserati that were involved? What if the combination of these two brands was not a way of bringing them together to sell them better (in the manner of Jaguar Land-Rover back in the day)?
Remember. Before the PSA-FCA merger, there were already rumors of the sale of these two brands. But FCA refused to do so, arguing that their product ranges weren't convincing enough to sell at a good price. And yet a number of buyers (most of them Chinese, I believe) were in the game. The merger is over, and these two brands are still in a catastrophic situation. And now there's talk once again of selling off the brands. The group could even hand over one or two factories so that the buyer can produce the models there. This would coincide with Tavares' statement that he wants to close/sell factories...
Just a guess, but I have a feeling it could be for one of these brands.
@ Stabak: There will be no sale or discontinuation of brands before C Tavares leaves.
His successor will have to deal with this problem.
But to date, some brands are in the red, and we know who they are.
Within the Europe division, this mainly concerns the Italian brands: Maserati, Lancia, Alfa and DS.
In the Americas division, Dodge and Chrysler are in the hot seat.
Yes, not before, but soon after for sure...
DS should cut its losses. This brand should have remained what it was in the first place, a chic variation of Citroen. And it worked just fine that way!
My impression of Lancia is that they came up with the new Ypsilon just to keep the brand alive, so as to better sell it to a Chinese group that will be happy to get its hands on a European brand and its history and rebadge it with Chinese models (like MG).
Alfa-Roméo's situation is pitiful. The Junior, though stylistically successful in my opinion, seems to have been designed in a hurry to save the furniture. What about the follow-up? With a Tonal that's not selling well, and aging Giulia/Stelvio models that you forget are still being sold?
Maserati will also end up in the hands of another group or foreign investor. Stellantis is clearly showing the world his lack of interest in this brand. And Elkann couldn't care less: he already has Ferrari, which is making billions for his beloved little holding company Exor. What's the point of losing money or attaching it to Ferrari? Too risky. He's an investor, he's more interested in Dollars and his little stock market empire.
Dodge is as pitiful as Alfa Romeo. Chrysler, on the other hand, even if the range is in a lethargic state, can be turned around simply and quickly. The idea would be to rebadge Peugeots and sell them in the US. It's a laughable idea, but it's one that's been rumored in the American press. The 5008, for example, could be introduced there. In recent decades, Chrysler hasn't made any incredible cars, and has confined itself to premium-access generalists like Peugeot. By dipping into Peugeot's catalog, Chrysler could quickly offer new sedans, SUVs, etc., models similar to what they've done so far. At the very least, this would save the brand on American soil.
In fact, Stellantis wants to get rid of a test center in Arizona and Chrysler's historic headquarters in the USA. Just to show that their cars will now be European products adapted to their markets. So there you have it...
マセラティとアルファロメオは似たような技術者集団が創ったレーシングカーにルーツを持っている。
１９６０年代後半に中大型サルーンをメインにしたマセラティと中小型車をメインにしたアルファロメオで方向は変わりましたがもともと同じようなラインナップを持ってます。
基本的に同じシャーシーによりスポーティなアルファロメオとよりラグジュアリーなマセラティで味付けを変えればいいと思うんですけどね。
I don't get it... Maseratis for suburban weddings? Fake Italian luxury? Alpha luxury like Maserati? Fake going back to Sverige and driving Volvo at 150,000 euros, that's really fake luxury, that's a scam and it's ugly...
Santo Ficili! Benedica la nostra Alfa Romeo, pregga per la nostra Maserati. Proteggi i nostri beni nazionali! Fai in modo di tornare verso le vere macchine, non dei SUV, ma delle berline sportive, dei sportwagon come si deve, dei coupé sportivi e anche delle barchetta agile e elegante! Tutto con un prezzo piu basso. Perche bisogna essere onesto con se stesso; l'Alfa non puo pretendere avere i stessi prezzi di una Bmw o mercedes per delle prestazioni inferiore alla conconrenzza, sopra tutto con il servizio di terzo mondo... Il prezzo era la forza delle macchine italiane, si poteva aquistare una macchina piu potenta della media, bella e con l'italinità unica a prezzo piu basso. Un prezzo onesto, fara tornare i clienti. E piu tosto che copiare I numerosi SUV che inonda il mercato, meglio forse distinguarsi e propore una gamma di berline e citadine, per I clienti storici e per i nuovi clienti a chi non piace i panzer tedeschi! Li forse si trovera il saluto, il rotorno a l'onesta realità di quello che dovrebbe essere un auto italiana...
Wir müssen zurück zu Euro 5, alles andere wird lagfristig scheitern
Hallo an die Geschäftsstelle von Stellantis,
Sobald Preise, Qualität, und Service der Italocars für Normalverdiener bezahlbar sind, werdet Ihr sehen, dass die Menschen wieder tolle Autos kaufen.
Liebe Grüße ein EX-Alfista.
A few observations:
1/ Before getting too excited about the appointment of an Italian to the helm of the Alfa and Maserati brands, we should first take a look at the background of the new man.
S.Ficili is above all a pure Fiat product, trained at the Lancia business school (when you see what Lancia has become, you can already start to have a few doubts) but who has no experience in brand management, especially of premium and luxury brands...
2/ Bringing together two ailing brands like Alfa and Maserati is clearly not the right strategy, as they both have very different issues to deal with; this appointment is yet another illustration of "why make things simple when you can make them complicated". We have the same difficulty with the appointment of A. Filosa as Director of the North American Zone, in addition to his duties as Director of Jeep...
3/ Above all, this appointment confirms that the brand managers within Stellantis really have no real influence on the evolution of the brands, with power now in the hands of the Techno departments and those responsible for major cross-functional projects.
I couldn't agree more. Brands themselves no longer have any real meaning; they're no longer marketing platforms that we promote with various gadgets (alas, for example, despite its magnificent plastic, the 33 Stradale is just a marketing "gimmick" and not a manifesto of the know-how of a fully autonomous brand...) while declining common technical bases.
@Squirrel78: In the past, a brand was the company's symbol and raison d'être.
Today, brands are merely assets of companies that have become sprawling, transnational groups.
The risk is the loss of brand autonomy, specificity and know-how.
Bom dia,
Tenho um alfa romeo stelvio quadrifolio matrícula AH-14-NP que está a ser reparado na vossa oficina de Braga há mais de um mês . Não tenho tido Feedback, nem sido contactado pelos vossos responsáveis estou completamente desiludido com a marca Alfa Romeo gostaria até de comprar o novo alfetta mas duvido que em Portugal tenha alguém com qualidade para uma eventual reparação se for necessário!!! Desde já l meu desagrado com a marca na qual eu tanto a apreciava. Nas próximos anos terei que ver outras marcas que me deiam mais confiança tenho pena que a alfa em Portugal não esteja ao nível de outras marcas nomeadamente no que toca a qualidade de reparação não existe talvez na minha opinião técnicos ao nível!!!
Zukunft Alfa Romeo?
Der Mut auf Verbrenner zu setzen, wird darüber entscheiden, ob die Marke weiterlebt oder stirbt. Elektroautos sind austauschbar wie Smart-TV's, oder Computer. Diesen Wettbewerb kann die westliche Industrie nicht gewinnen. E-Autos bedingen nur Lowtech plus einen Computer. Beides liefert Asien besser und billiger.
Und die noch vorhandenen Autos mit Verbrennungsmotor? Die Passion in der Entwicklung ist erloschen. Es sind fast nur noch herzlose Designprodukte, wie verschiedene Uhren mit dem selben ETA-Werk.
Alfa Romeo hätte bspw. noch einen Tonale Quadrifoglio in der Hinterhand. Ebenfalls 280 PS wie der PHEV, aber mit 2.0 T Verbrenner, 9 Gang und mechanischem Q4.
Aber Imparato (Cuore Sportivo, sich zu den Wurzeln bekenn, etc.) hat für die Alfisti in Europa entschieden, dass sie dieses Fahrzeug nicht wollen.
Mit Blick in die Glaskugel sehe ich eine Zukunft mit E-Fuels (weil sonst auch der Flugverkehr nicht mehr funktionieren würde), aber leider haben zwischenzeitlich alle passionslosen Spar-Autobauer auf E-Zombies umgestellt. Emotionale Antriebe und zugehörige Ingenieurskunst für Verbrenner, sind aber leider ausgestorben.
Einen letzten Lichtblick gibt es noch. Unsere Oldtimer würden schon heute ohne jegliche Änderung mit E-Fuel fahren. Sie werden es auch in der Zukunft noch tun. 🙂