Maserati halting production in Turin for a week
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Classico
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Very much agree with this.
The tech in the GT is letting it down in today's marketplace compared to what is around now.
A lot of reviews tend to reinforce the view that "It's a bit dated....and that's being generous".
There's a reason why the GT is still selling...and its not only due to lack of financial resources/delayed models.
Just like a lot of Astons, the design language is classic.
8 years on and it still draws attention like its just rolled off the factory floor.
Wack61
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The GT is a classic design, anyone seeing one for the first time would never guess it's been in production 8 years
Some designs just take your breath away
10 years ago we took the kids to lwgoland, Concorde flew over on its way to new York, everybody and I mean everybody stopped what they were doing and watched it until it was gone
For me the GT is up there with Concorde , absolutely beautiful
Some designs just take your breath away
10 years ago we took the kids to lwgoland, Concorde flew over on its way to new York, everybody and I mean everybody stopped what they were doing and watched it until it was gone
For me the GT is up there with Concorde , absolutely beautiful
ItalianDreamer
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Shame as they are a nice car. If I was after a Saloon would be seriously tempted just to hard to compete with the Germans
Needamaser
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As mentioned before maybe it should have been launched as an Alfa 159 replacement and priced accordingly?
I remember similar discussion a few years ago about Ducati who had "lost their way" to an extent.
There was the traditionalists who remembered them from early days and their heritage. Their racing history. Style. Noise. Being "different" to the alternative offerings.
However selling in small numbers was not profitable.
Brought out new bikes which didn't really catch on with traditionalists and didn't like that people who were now buying were buying because it was "cool" and knew nothing and cared nothing about the heritage.
I have thought for some time that Maserati have a lot in common with Ducati in that respect.
Elliott653
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Maseratis are now just too big. What Maserati needs to build, in my opinion, is a 4200 / Gransport sized car. Something that is a practical proposition for driving in town.
They are. It's called the Alfieri.
Yorkshire-Trident
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One-77? Vulcan?
The Lagonda was essentially commissioned by the Arab Dealerships because there was an interest in something more elegant than a Bentley Mulsanne, and it is a limited run of 200.
And no-one has left it late for the SUV segment - its one of the biggest selling markets all over the world now - just look at the New Bentley Bentyaga, 1st years supply sold out in a week! despite how awful it looks (IMO). Want a Macan? think it was a 24month waiting list last time I heard
alfatwo
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Your dead on there..something the size of an Audi TT or thereabouts is just perfect..I just don't get this large car thing..your not going to sleep in it or rent the back out to the local Polish car wash guys, so whats the point!
Dave
BJL
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Maserati To Stop Production For A Week Next Month
by*Chirag Moroon October 9, 2015No Comments
******
Maserati will be forced to halt production at its*Avv. Giovanni Agnelli plant in Grugliasco, Turin, Italy due to low demand and declining sales. Reuters reports that 2,000 employees will be put on*a temporary jobless scheme between November 2nd and November 8th. This is being done to adjust to the market demand.
The Ghibli is their cheapest car
The Italian company manufactures the Ghibli sedan and the Quattroporte sedan at the said factory. The other models are manufactured in Modena, Italy. The two models were responsible for a massive increase in Maserati sales last year. The company sold*6,288 units in 2012, 15,393 units in 2013 and 36,448 units in 2014. But this year again, sales have taken a hit. Sales last month fell 34% compared to September 2014. In February this year, the sales figure was down by 43% compared to February 2014.
The Italian company hopes that the sales will pick-up once again next year after they launch the much awaited, delayed, Quattroporte based Levante SUV at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. With this SUV, Maserati plan to sell 75,000 units annually by 2018.
This from the press saying demand down 43% for QP & Ghibli in Feb year on year suggests Maserati are roaring off in the wrong direction when other manufacturers are boasting record sales.
by*Chirag Moroon October 9, 2015No Comments
******
Maserati will be forced to halt production at its*Avv. Giovanni Agnelli plant in Grugliasco, Turin, Italy due to low demand and declining sales. Reuters reports that 2,000 employees will be put on*a temporary jobless scheme between November 2nd and November 8th. This is being done to adjust to the market demand.
The Ghibli is their cheapest car
The Italian company manufactures the Ghibli sedan and the Quattroporte sedan at the said factory. The other models are manufactured in Modena, Italy. The two models were responsible for a massive increase in Maserati sales last year. The company sold*6,288 units in 2012, 15,393 units in 2013 and 36,448 units in 2014. But this year again, sales have taken a hit. Sales last month fell 34% compared to September 2014. In February this year, the sales figure was down by 43% compared to February 2014.
The Italian company hopes that the sales will pick-up once again next year after they launch the much awaited, delayed, Quattroporte based Levante SUV at the 2016 Geneva Motor Show. With this SUV, Maserati plan to sell 75,000 units annually by 2018.
This from the press saying demand down 43% for QP & Ghibli in Feb year on year suggests Maserati are roaring off in the wrong direction when other manufacturers are boasting record sales.
conaero
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Oh dear, they never get it right do they but are we surprised, no, not really.
Maserati is a low production, hand built sports sedan maker, always has been and always will be.
All this expansion has done is put them in a financial situation and cheapen the brand.
The QP is way too large and all you have done is push the QP buyers into the cheaper Ghibli or move brands.
Add to this, neglecting its hard core fans by putting lives at risk by not recalling dangerous, flawed parts, well done guys!
Maserati is a low production, hand built sports sedan maker, always has been and always will be.
All this expansion has done is put them in a financial situation and cheapen the brand.
The QP is way too large and all you have done is push the QP buyers into the cheaper Ghibli or move brands.
Add to this, neglecting its hard core fans by putting lives at risk by not recalling dangerous, flawed parts, well done guys!
P R
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http://europe.autonews.com/assets/PDF/CA101782101.PDF
According to this report Ghibli sales were up 12% in Europe in the first half of 2015.
According to this report Ghibli sales were up 12% in Europe in the first half of 2015.
QP sales up as well. The trouble is Europe is now C20% of Maserati sales so is less relevant than it used to be. They need to facelift the two saloons now - more power from all engines and improved spec especially as new 7 series and S class are here and 5 series and E class are coming relatively soon.
D Walker
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up from 9 units to 10 units?
maf? Lol!!
keith
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This is a very good point, and given the enormous development budgets Mercedes and BMW etc can allocate to new models this is the problem that Maserati will have. The company needs to expand its range to bring in more cash, but its always going to be playing catch up as the sort of capital needed is just not available. Jaguar faced very much the same situation.
hodroyd
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Maserati Management if they can be called that, are not the best, we know that by how they are prepared to treat owners..!! Prospective purchasers of any Maserati are very likely to read a forum like ours first, then decide..!! Due to recent issues of safety being ignored by this manufacturer, it is not surprising that buyers are tempted elsewhere..??
Grant V
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I think that Maserati have lost their way in terms of not really understanding their brand values and the car market in general. I don't think they've really thought this through adequately and it seems that their new direction is more a knee jerk reaction than something that has been analyzed and planned properly.
It's almost as if Sergio woke up one morning and thought: "I know, let's take on the Germans." Well that's a good plan, but very, very difficult to implement. VW (*hack, cough, cough*) had the same epiphany forty years ago to take on Mercedes with Audi and they're only sort of getting it right now. But still, no matter how good Audi is, nor how good its quality might be, nor how innovative Audi might be, in spite of all the marketing and racing successes, Audi is still perceived to be a second cousin to Mercedes-Benz, and this is exactly what Maserati have yet to discover.
The Italians might think that a Maserati is a family Ferrari. They might think and blindly play on a glorious, if chequered history. (It probably started to die soon after Fangio won the world championship in a 250F. Shall I mention the Citroen years?). But here's the rub, chaps - the rest of the world doesn't. Certainly not the Americans, who are so un-brand conscious that unknown brands picked out of a Japanese hat box have become unprecedented best sellers. Infiniwhat?? Maserati don't get the fact that Chuck will deride his mate down at the country club for spending $80 000 on a basic Ghibli when his fully loaded Infiniwhat cost 25% less. To the average yank it's all about bang for your buck.
Maserati have blundered by thinking that they will win over 5-series and E-class customers merely because it's a Maserati. They think that the badge is the trump card, not the fact that the car should be everything as good and reliable, if not better, than a BMW or Mercedes.
Unfortunately for us car guys, a car company can only survive if it keeps giving the market what it wants, and that means all the godawful SUVs, hybrids and other banal electrical appliances. Car companies cannot survive making cars that car guys love, because car guys only make up the tiniest proportion of the car market. The rest of the market is made up of people who merely want to get from A to B. They have no interest whatsoever in cars and are more interested in the gadgets the car has to offer. Who would have thought a critical decision about buying a car would depend on whether it has WiFi connectivity or not? And if car guys were the target market, diesels would have remained in taxis in Berlin, and all this self-drive nonsense would have been killed. Hopefully while still in Sven's head.
Therefore the Ghibli and Levante are here to stay, Maserati will become more mainstream or even disappear, and the rest of us will cry into our pints remembering the good old days.
It's almost as if Sergio woke up one morning and thought: "I know, let's take on the Germans." Well that's a good plan, but very, very difficult to implement. VW (*hack, cough, cough*) had the same epiphany forty years ago to take on Mercedes with Audi and they're only sort of getting it right now. But still, no matter how good Audi is, nor how good its quality might be, nor how innovative Audi might be, in spite of all the marketing and racing successes, Audi is still perceived to be a second cousin to Mercedes-Benz, and this is exactly what Maserati have yet to discover.
The Italians might think that a Maserati is a family Ferrari. They might think and blindly play on a glorious, if chequered history. (It probably started to die soon after Fangio won the world championship in a 250F. Shall I mention the Citroen years?). But here's the rub, chaps - the rest of the world doesn't. Certainly not the Americans, who are so un-brand conscious that unknown brands picked out of a Japanese hat box have become unprecedented best sellers. Infiniwhat?? Maserati don't get the fact that Chuck will deride his mate down at the country club for spending $80 000 on a basic Ghibli when his fully loaded Infiniwhat cost 25% less. To the average yank it's all about bang for your buck.
Maserati have blundered by thinking that they will win over 5-series and E-class customers merely because it's a Maserati. They think that the badge is the trump card, not the fact that the car should be everything as good and reliable, if not better, than a BMW or Mercedes.
Unfortunately for us car guys, a car company can only survive if it keeps giving the market what it wants, and that means all the godawful SUVs, hybrids and other banal electrical appliances. Car companies cannot survive making cars that car guys love, because car guys only make up the tiniest proportion of the car market. The rest of the market is made up of people who merely want to get from A to B. They have no interest whatsoever in cars and are more interested in the gadgets the car has to offer. Who would have thought a critical decision about buying a car would depend on whether it has WiFi connectivity or not? And if car guys were the target market, diesels would have remained in taxis in Berlin, and all this self-drive nonsense would have been killed. Hopefully while still in Sven's head.
Therefore the Ghibli and Levante are here to stay, Maserati will become more mainstream or even disappear, and the rest of us will cry into our pints remembering the good old days.