AutoBeta(AutoBeta.net)09/30 Report--

On September 29th, there were market rumors that Chery might buy Maserati, the ultra-luxury car brand owned by the Stellantis Group. In response to the news, Chery official responded: "there is no relevant news."

It is worth mentioning that in July this year, Stellantis CEO Tang Weishi revealed that Stellantis cannot afford unprofitable brands, and the follow-up group will reduce the underperforming brands in its huge product portfolio to ensure overall profitability. At that time, many industry insiders speculated that Maserati might become the first target for Stellantis to sell.

In fact, news of Chery's possible acquisition of Maserati came out as early as last month. At that time, both Chery and Stellantis responded to the news. Chery responded that it was not clear about buying the Maserati brand. For its part, Stellantis reiterated its commitment to its brands, saying that each brand has a 10-year window to build its sustainable and profitable business. The implication is that there is no intention to sell the Maserati brand for the time being.

Although both sides deny these rumors, there is no doubt that Maserati's unsatisfactory sales in the market are behind the news. The data show that Maserati is positioned as a luxury car brand, which was established in 1914. Since its establishment, it has been acquired or held by multi-level enterprises, and did not become a brand under the Stellantis Group until 2021.

Maserati officially entered the Chinese market in 2004, and has successively listed Ghibli (Geberit) sedan series, Levante (Levante) SUV series, Quattroporte president series and other popular models, occupying a certain share of the super luxury car market.

The Chinese market is the main sales market of Maserati, take the Chinese market as an example. From 2016 to 2017, Maserati sold 12000 and 15000 vehicles respectively in China, according to relevant data. However, since 2018, Maserati's sales in China began to decline due to the influence of brand niche pricing, lack of product power, tariff adjustment and other factors. From 2018 to 2023, Maserati's sales in the Chinese market were 10696, 2600, 4787, 7143, 4855 and 4264, respectively.

After entering 2024, Maserati's sales in the Chinese market have not improved. From January to August this year, Maserati's import sales in the Chinese market were 214, 129, 140, 109, 96, 32 and 31 respectively, with a cumulative sales volume of 840 vehicles. This figure is less than the one-month sales of Maserati at its peak. At the same time, losses continue. Relevant data show that Maserati adjusted operating profit changed from positive to negative in the first half of this year, with a loss of about 82 million euros in the first half of this year.

In the context of depressed sales and financial losses, Maserati will naturally be guessed by many industry insiders that she will face the fate of being sold. In fact, many imported ultra-luxury brands are also suffering from Maserati's sales performance in the Chinese market. Since the beginning of this year, not only Maserati has plummeted, but also sales of ultra-luxury brands such as Bentley, Rolls-Royce, McLaren, Ferrari and Lamborghini have fallen in China.

Of course, Maserati has adjusted accordingly. A few days ago, Yu Hanbang was officially appointed General Manager of Maserati China, responsible for Maserati's business operations in the Chinese market. It is understood that Yu Hanbang has rich experience in the automotive industry and has worked in a number of automotive companies such as Genisis China, SAIC MG Europe and SAIC Volkswagen. It remains to be seen whether Yu Hanbang's arrival will boost Maserati's sales in China.

Let's talk about why it is rumored that Chery will buy Maserati. This may be with Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue revealed in April this year: will start a trip to Europe, the main goal is to discuss cooperation with four companies. In addition, it is also pointed out that two European luxury brands are interested in working with them, one of which is ready to sign a contract, while the other two are in negotiations. At that time, there was a lot of news that Chery was working with luxury brands or Maserati and Alfa Romeo.

Welcome to subscribe to the WeChat public account "Automotive Industry Focus" to get the first-hand insider information on the automotive industry and talk about things in the automotive circle. Welcome to break the news! WeChat ID autoWechat