According to foreign media reports, two people familiar with the matter revealed that Stellantis is considering selling its troubled luxury brand Maserati as one of its options to restructure its huge portfolio of 14 car brands.
One of the sources said that Stellantis is gradually realizing that there are too many of its brands to properly invest in all of them, and that the group needs to “set priorities”.
Image credit: Maserati
Discussions about the future of the Maserati brand began long before Stellantis’ new CEO Antonio Filosa was appointed last month, while the group was still under chairman John Elkann.
During the selection of the CEO, the sustainability issues of the French-Italian joint venture car company, which covers 14 brands including Maserati, Chrysler, Peugeot, Jeep and Alfa Romeo, have always been at the top of its considerations.
As the world’s fourth-largest automaker, Stellantis, like other European car companies, faces high import tariffs imposed by US President Donald Trump while also dealing with fierce competition from Chinese competitors.
In early April, Stellantis Group hired McKinsey & Company to provide a professional assessment of the impact of U.S. tariff policies on Maserati and Alfa Romeo, which were working on future development plans. The group made it clear at the time that it would continue to fully support the development of these two brands.
However, the source said that although Stellantis did not explicitly entrust McKinsey to find a buyer for Maserati, it asked to consider all possible options, including a potential sale. The source stressed that all options are within the scope of the assessment, which is still in the preliminary stages.
The above-mentioned person also revealed that the Stellantis board of directors is divided on Maserati’s future plans: some directors believe that Stellantis is unable to continue to revive Maserati, and selling is the best choice; Others believe that Maserati is still valuable and that selling the only luxury brand would be a major blow to Stellantis’ reputation.
Analysts said that if the Maserati brand is eventually sold, Chinese automakers (such as Chery) may become potential acquirers to support expansion in the European market, after all, Chinese car companies still lack brand recognition among European consumers. This will be similar to SAIC’s acquisition of British MG cars in 2007 or Geely’s acquisition of Sweden’s Volvo Cars in 2010.
In response to the above reports, a spokesperson for the Stellantis Group said: “We solemnly declare that the Maserati brand is not for sale. McKinsey declined to comment.
Filosa’s predecessor, Carlos Tavares, resigned in December last year due to Stellantis’ poor performance in the U.S. market, and he had previously refused to consider divesting any brand. However, some investors and analysts believe that streamlining the brand portfolio will boost Stellantis’ profit margins. Since March last year, Stellantis’ stock price has fallen by two-thirds.
Maserati’s weak sales have dragged down Stellantis’ performance to some extent. Maserati sales fell by more than 50% in 2024, with only 11,300 units sold, and the brand’s adjusted operating loss last year reached 260 million euros ($298 million).
At present, the Maserati brand has not yet arranged a new model launch plan and is waiting for the Stellantis Group to approve a new business strategy – the previous plan was suspended by the Stellantis Group last year. Maserati brand head Santo Ficili revealed earlier this month that the new business plan will be announced shortly after Filosa takes office.
