Has Maserati got Jaguar customers in its sights?

[Parisien]

http://news.uk.msn.com/blog/trending-blogpost.aspx?post=0cc3d475-2ac8-4c56-bfa4-70ec68ff01cd&_nwpt=1


What do we think.......or in reality are they looking above the Jaguar stratum?


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[Parisien]

Save you all clicking through....


Maserati launched its new Quattroporte luxury saloon to the UK press on Friday and I was there. More than the car itself, though, it’s the Italian marque’s ambitious growth plans that have set the car world buzzing. Maserati is attacking the sports luxury market, the traditional stomping ground of British manufacturing’s current star turn – Jaguar Land Rover.

Maserati sold a modest 6,000 cars in 2011 but it’s targeting a huge increase in sales that will see it shift 50,000 units in 2015. New models are key to this and the Quattroporte will soon be followed by the Ghibli, a Jaguar XF rivalling executive saloon, and the Levante SUV which will go head-to-head with Land Rover’s Range Rover. From there, we’re also likely to see a compact sports car based on Alfa Romeo’s 4C which will challenge Jaguar’s new F-Type.

Under the ownership of Indian conglomerate TATA, Jaguar Land Rover has grown to become a beacon in an otherwise dismal period for British manufacturing. It recently announced plans for a new factory in China to help it push further into the vital Chinese market but things could be about to get a lot tougher with a rejuvenated Maserati coming up on the rails.

Maserati has never mentioned Jaguar Land Rover officially but at the Quattroporte launch event in Nice, France, executives were privately keen to gauge journalists’ opinions on JLR products and it would be strange, given the positioning of their new cars, if the Italians didn’t see JLR as a key rival, perhaps the key rival. I was asked numerous questions about Jaguar’s new F-Type roadster by Maserati execs on the launch and they also seemed very interested in potential Jaguar plans to replace the ill-fated X-Type.

What do you think? Can Maserati put a dent in the success of the Jaguar and Land Rover brands? Which car would you rather own? Check out our first drive review of the new Maserati Quattroporte here.




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[dem maser]

The market for xecutive cars is difficult....they must be reliable, relatively affordable to run and a good diesel....

 

[Simon]

The full on back end photo in that link was disappointing. Why have they done something which is the clone of an Audi A4?

 

[Andyk]

Not good at all.........

 

[BennyD]

The full on back end photo in that link was disappointing. Why have they done something which is the clone of an Audi A4?

....because, IMO, it's the safe and sensible way to go. If they are trying to expand their targets by such a large amount in order for the company to prosper then they have to target JLR, BMW and Audi buyers. Building an Italian car with Italian flair may have a limited appeal to a mass market so, it appears to me, they have decided to go down a well trodden path and make a German style car with Italian flair. Not for us, maybe, but I will be keeping my spyder for as long as I possibly can so I will enjoy the fact I have a modern classic Maserati and not a new mass market Maserati.

 

[bigbob]

I feel that you guys are giving the QP an unnecessary kicking. Looks ok to me. Perhaps not leading edge but I would consider owning one if I wanted a 5.2 metre car that I could not take anywhere because no parking spaces are large enough.....

With regard to JLR, LR is a huge success story but J is a dog (I know it's really a cat, but you know what I mean). Maserati can aspire higher than that IMHO.

 

[TridentTested]

The same arguments were thrashed out when the '80s Biturbo was launched: not a real Maserati, looks like a Fiat Mirafiori, etc. Whatever the Biturbo's shortcomings, and it had many, at least it allowed for the survival of the marque.

I don't think they have a snowball-in-****'s (bizarre, why is the opposite of 'heaven' being censored?) chance of hitting those targets but they are right to go for bigger volumes. The brand can not be financially viable producing a few thousand here and a few thousand there. It will cease to be.

Jaguar have done a remarkable job turning around their brand with the XF and now the XJ. Maserati are right to pay close attention to how they did it. However I don't see them being directly comparable. A quick look at the classifieds shows dozens and dozens of XFs with well over 100,000 miles on young cars. They are obviously been bought by middle managers who pound the motorways. Is that really Maserati's territory?

 

[dem maser]

I dont like the looks, will prob be a good car...

 

[Andyk]

I feel that you guys are giving the QP an unnecessary kicking. Looks ok to me. Perhaps not leading edge but I would consider owning one if I wanted a 5.2 metre car that I could not take anywhere because no parking spaces are large enough.....

With regard to JLR, LR is a huge success story but J is a dog (I know it's really a cat, but you know what I mean). Maserati can aspire higher than that IMHO.

Not really a kicking just do not like the rear end...Very poor for Maserati to 'copy'....The first review and drive was not great either taking the QP away from what we love....An exec with the heart of a sports car......I really hope the Ghibli will take over that mantle....

 

[BennyD]

The same arguments were thrashed out when the '80s Biturbo was launched: not a real Maserati, looks like a Fiat Mirafiori, etc. Whatever the Biturbo's shortcomings, and it had many, at least it allowed for the survival of the marque.

I don't think they have a snowball-in-****'s (bizarre, why is the opposite of 'heaven' being censored?) chance of hitting those targets but they are right to go for bigger volumes. The brand can not be financially viable producing a few thousand here and a few thousand there. It will cease to be.

Jaguar have done a remarkable job turning around their brand with the XF and now the XJ. Maserati are right to pay close attention to how they did it. However I don't see them being directly comparable. A quick look at the classifieds shows dozens and dozens of XFs with well over 100,000 miles on young cars. They are obviously been bought by middle managers who pound the motorways. Is that really Maserati's territory?

It is if you get those middle managers to move from a 5 series to a QP instead of a 7 series when they get promoted. However, to do that you have to pitch it at or slightly higher than the 7series standard, price etc as the higher the cost the smaller your potential market, as it gets harder to persuade the bean counters to sanction it.

 

[dem maser]

Italians innovate...not imitate.....i love the old and current....the future looks more german.....

Keeping with the looks but changing the rear would do......people said the GT had mondeo lights when that came out but i dont think it did

 

[BennyD]

....in the same way the 4200 didn't have Honda lights!

 

[Andyk]

No it has American lights...Fat and bland

 

[dem maser]

No it has American lights...Fat and bland

Haha great!!

 

[Andyk]

Where as you AC Dem has Italian lights...Thin and stylish.......

 

[dem maser]

Your right andy

 

[Simon]

Jaguar have done a remarkable job turning around their brand with the XF and now the XJ. Maserati are right to pay close attention to how they did it. However I don't see them being directly comparable. A quick look at the classifieds shows dozens and dozens of XFs with well over 100,000 miles on young cars. They are obviously been bought by middle managers who pound the motorways. Is that really Maserati's territory?

Maserati pay close attention? Jag had a dire range of cars, the X-type, the S-type and the very aging XJ. Cars that even your grandad would feel old in. The new range is as good as the German crowd but Maserati's current market position is a Ferrari understudy. Most of these new cars sold by Jag et al are heavily subsidised finance offers etc. Are we soon to see "Maserati only 399 per month" stickers in the window of your nearest FM dealer? Think not.

 

[Simon]

It is if you get those middle managers to move from a 5 series to a QP instead of a 7 series when they get promoted. However, to do that you have to pitch it at or slightly higher than the 7series standard, price etc as the higher the cost the smaller your potential market, as it gets harder to persuade the bean counters to sanction it.

The secondhand market gives a better idea of the UK market. Virtually all 7 series for sale are 730D's and numbers wise the Merc AMG models (direct competitor to Maserati) are nearly as rare as Maserati's. Even the new CLS has a 250D variant....So to compete we'll need to see the new Ghibli with a 3.0D!

 

[Parisien]

Diesel....yuck........they should remain exclusively petrol......style....engines and heritage sets them apart from the Teutonic earth movers.


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