Tag Archives: Maserati

The future of Maserati is uncertain

Lately, Maserati has been fighting a tough battle to survive, and now comes another bad news that could further complicate the future of the Italian brand. According to the latest information, Stellantis gave up an investment of 1.5 billion dollars, which would have been a large injection and a possible way out of the current crisis.

In an interview with Autocar, Stellantis’ chief financial officer Doug Ostermann said that the company must review its plans, which includes abandoning investments. “We have to recognize the dynamics in this business, especially in the Chinese market, and our expectations in terms of how quickly the luxury market will switch to electrification,” Doug Ostermann said.

This decision will particularly hit Maserati, whose sales are not at the expected level, and sales results for 2024 show that the brand is recording large losses. In 2024, Maserati sold only 11,300 cars (- 57.5%) and made a financial loss of 260 million euros. This situation could put a large number of jobs at risk, so the FIM union has scheduled a meeting with Maserati management for March 11.

“Maserati is in one of the most critical situations. Despite its quality and high-performance models, the brand is suffering from marketing mistakes and negligence. We can no longer waste time,” said FIM Secretary General Ferdinando Uliano.

It remains to be seen whether Maserati will survive the current crisis or become another Italian brand that has become a thing of the past.

Source: Autocar

Maserati MC20 Cielo and Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z06 in U-Drag race

Italian car manufacturers like to say that their cars are the best, especially if they are supercars, and one way to solve the dilemma is U-Drag races. This time the Maserati MC20 Cielo took to the line with the Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z06.

In U-Drags, cars race on a quarter-mile drag, before they hit the brakes, do a 180, and power back to start/finish. The video was released on the Edmunds Cars YouTube channel, and the drivers were Alistair Weaver and Jonathan Elfalan.

The Maserati MC20 Cielo is powered by a 3.0-L V6 twin-turbo engine with 621 hp (457 kW) and 538 lb-ft (728 Nm) of torque, mated to an 8-speed dual-clutch transmission. That’s enough power to push a 1,814 kg car to 62 mph (100 km/h) in about 3 seconds with a top speed of 199 mph (320 km/h).

Chevrolet C8 Corvette Z06 is powered by a 5.5-liter naturally aspirated V8 engine with 670 hp (499 kW) at 8,400 rpm and 459 lb-ft (623 Nm) of torque, mated to an 8-speed automatic transmission that sends power to the rear axle. The mass of the car is 1,685 kg.

In the first race, the Corvette Z06 had a better start, crossing the 1/4 mile first, and even increased the distance to the start/finish. After that, the drivers switched cars. In the second race, we again saw a better start of the Corvette Z06, better braking and a faster return to the finish line.

More horsepower and faster acceleration proved crucial in this showdown.

Source: Edmunds Cars via Youtube

Stellantis is stopping production of the Fiat 500e at the Mirafiori plant

At the end of 2023, Fiat announced the temporary halt of production of the all-electric 500e at the Mirafiori plant due to low demand, and the same problems continued in 2024. According to the latest information, Stellantis announced that it would suspend operations from December 2, 2024 to January 5, 2025.

Stellantis confirmed that production at the Turin plant will be temporarily halted due to the decline in sales of electric cars in several European markets. This means that this decision affects not only the Fiat 500e but also Maserati cars, which are also experiencing poor demand in the US and China.

The company’s management is trying to find a way out of this situation, and Stellantis boss Carlos Tavares blames bad marketing for the poor sales results. The company is turning to selling the new Fiat 500 powered by a consumption engine, and the plan is to offer a hybrid version of the Fiat 500 from 2026.

The first generation Fiat 500 Hybrid will be produced in Poland, with an annual production plan of up to 100,000 units.

Source: Stellantis