Stellantis has no intention of selling Maserati

A few days ago, we published a news item stating that Stellantis was preparing a Maserati sale or spin-off. This possibility seemed credible, especially after Natalie Knight's statement, CFO of Stellantis, who had mentioned options for finding the best home for your luxury brand in difficulty.

Indeed, since 2023, Maserati has been going through a turbulent period. Figures are down and the brand is struggling to recover. The beginning of 2024 was marked by direction changesthe postponement of new product launches and Technical doubts about using the STLA Large platform of Stellantis. The situation worsened to the point where Maserati was the only brand absent from Stellantis Investor Day 2024This is a clear sign of the difficulties encountered.

Two options seemed to be emerging for the future of Maserati A complete sale to another automotive group, with Ferrari at the forefront of persistent rumours, or a spin-off that would see Maserati become an independent entity, but still linked to Stellantis. The latter strategy would have enabled the brand to restructure while retaining a certain proximity to its original group.

Then an official letter from Rocco Palombella, General Secretary of UILM, to John Elkann, highlighted Maserati's dramatic situation. In this letter, Palombella expressed his concerns about the brand's future and even suggested a merger with Ferrari to create an Italian luxury cluster.. Stellantis was quick to respond.

In an official statement signed by John Elkann and Carlos Tavares, Stellantis firmly denies any intention to sell Maserati or to combine it with other Italian luxury groups. The press release reaffirms Stellantis' unconditional commitment to Maserati, the only luxury brand among the Group's 14 brands. Maserati is in a transition phase towards electrification with the Folgore BEV program, including the GranTurismo and GranCabrio models in ICE and BEV versions, as well as the Grecale in ICE, mild hybrid and BEV versions. Successors to the Quattroporte and Levante are also in the pipeline.

This change in rhetoric between Natalie Knight's statements and the official Stellantis press release raises a number of questions. Why this sudden turnaround? Is it a response to political and union pressure? Or a strategy to allay concerns and investors?

In any case, Stellantis persists in his vision of an electric 100 % for Maserati by 2030. The next few months will be decisive for Maserati. The brand will have to rise to the challenge of the electric transition while remaining true to its heritage and its specific audience. Stellantis, for its part, is committed to supporting Maserati in this transition, ensuring that each brand in its portfolio can build a profitable and sustainable business over a 10-year horizon.

It remains to be seen whether this new strategy will bear fruit. In the meantime, fans of the brand will have to wait and see how this soap opera develops over the coming months, since this official communication is reassuring in form, doesn't always reassure on the substance the figures exist, Natalie Knight's words have been spoken, and thehe spin-off was officially announced a short while ago..