Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' (FCA) Maserati division had a bright looking future back in 2014. With the launch of the Ghibli sedan, it had a newly revived stride thanks to solid sales especially coming from China. Turns out though that it was short lived.
Maserati's financials came out this week and they weren't blowing anyone's doors off. China's slowing economy, the Ghibli's welcome being worn out and a shift in the sales mix seems to have the Italian automaker hurting just a touch.
According to FCA's head honcho, Sergio Marchionne, the next boost will come via the Levante luxury sport-utility vehicle. While it's easy to point to that vehicle being the problem solver, there's a couple things to keep in mind:
1) The luxury SUV market is as popular as ever, BUT there's plenty of competition to go around. THINK: Why wouldn't a buyer go get the all-new Porsche Macan or soon-to-release Jaguar F-Pace? How about a Land Rover Range Rover Sport? It's going to be a hard fought battle.
2) IF Maserati's all-new SUV looks like the Kubang Concept, it may have a shot. Imagine an SUV that looks like that, sounds like the Ghibli and has a well-trimmed interior.
Having said that, we want to turn to YOU: Maserati's success may have been short lived — is the Levante going to be the product that turns this ship around?
What say you, Spies?
...Maserati’s second-quarter adjusted earnings fell by 30 percent to 43 million euros ($47 million), according to parent Fiat Chrysler’s financial results release Thursday. The brand’s global vehicle sales dropped by 13 percent to 8,281 as higher sales in Europe failed to offset falling demand in the U.S. and China.
Marchionne said the launch of the Levante SUV in the first half of 2016 will boost Maserati’s earnings. "We need to wait until then," he told analysts Thursday on a conference call...
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