Stellantis will not hesitate to axe underperforming brands such as Maserati in its sprawling portfolio, its CEO, Carlos Tavares, said on Thursday.
The warning for lossmaking brands is a turnaround for Tavares, who has maintained since Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American carmaker Fiat Chrysler and France’s PSA that all its 14 brands, including Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep, have a future.
“If they don’t make money, we’ll shut them down,” Carlos Tavares told reporters after the world’s number four carmaker delivered worse-than-expected first-half results, sending its shares down as much as 10%.
“We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money.”
The carmaker now also considers China’s Leapmotor as its 15th brand, after it agreed a broad co-operation with the group.
Stellantis does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati, which had an adjusted operating loss of €82m for the first six months of 2024, from a profit of €121m in 2023. Maserati’s global sales fell more than 50% to 6,500 units from January to June from 15,300 in the same period in 2023, Stellantis said.
The disappointing sales were largely due to Maserati discontinuing a number of models, including the Ghibli midsize sedan, Quattroporte large sedan and Levante large SUV. At the same time, sales of the Grecale midsize SUV slumped 42% in Europe.
Maserati’s model range now comprises the Grecale — available in petrol and electric versions — as its volume model, and the GranTurismo coupe, GranCabrio convertible and MC20 supercar as niche products.
Some analysts say Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped given their marginal contribution to the group’s overall sales.
“There could be some point in the future when we look at what’s the best home for Maserati,” Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight said on a call with journalists on July 25, according to Automotive News Europe.
Stellantis’ Milan-listed shares were down as much as 12.5% on Thursday, hitting their lowest since August 2023. That brings the loss for the year so far to 22%, making them the worst performer among the major European carmakers. Stellantis reported that its adjusted operating income fell 40% to €8.463bn in the half year.
With Reuters
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