Fiat Five Year Plan: More Profit From Ferrari, Cheaper Maseratis

Edward Niedermeyer
by Edward Niedermeyer

Given Ferrari’s pricing politics, it seems safe to assume that Ferrari/Maserati is a fairly profitable enterprise for its 85 percent owner, Fiat. Indeed, with over $2.5b in combined revenues last year and an 11.5 percent operating margin, the Italian sportscar brands aren’t exactly dying of economic downturn-related causes. But at today’s presentation of Fiat’s five year plan, CEO Sergio Marchionne revealed that his firm has big plans for Ferrari/Maserati, and gave unprecedented planning details as proof of the brands’ path towards even greater profitability.

Though Ferrari and Maserati have been able to share components without succumbing to significant brand overlap, Fiat is set on driving the sister firms further apart in terms of strategy. Maserati will move downmarket, according to reporting of Fiat’s presentation by Automotive News [sub], adding two new models priced between $73,600 and $93,700 over the next five years. One of these models is an E-segment sedan, aimed at BMW’s 5 Series GT. Is this the LX-platformed Maser we’ve been hearing rumors about? Meanwhile, Maserati will also replace its Quattroporte flagship sedan by 2014, with a pricing target reportedly aimed lower than the current model’s $120k sticker.

And while Maserati moves towards making premium Italian motoring more accessible, Ferrari will be putting the screws on prestige addicts in order to boost group profits. In hopes of “stable volumes,” Marchionne even gave details of Ferrari’s future product plan, a new move in the normally-secretive Fezza playbook. Automotive News [sub] breaks down the plans:

  • A replacement for the 612 Scaglietti coupe and a spider variant of the 458 two-seat coupe, both coming in 2011.
  • A successor to the 599 GTB and a limited edition supercar to replace the Enzo, both coming in 2012.
  • A face-lifted California spider in 2013.
With Ferrari and Maserati parting ways in order to cover more of the market, Fiat expects the two to bring in even more revenue and improve margins. By 2014 the two brands are expected to bring in $4.7b in revenue, and up their collective operating margin to a staggering 15 percent. If those numbers pan out, the two are looking at an operating profit approaching three quarters of a billion dollars per year. Forza!
Edward Niedermeyer
Edward Niedermeyer

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  • Ronnie Schreiber Ronnie Schreiber on Apr 21, 2010

    I don't get it. Marchionne also announced that they're not going to kill Alfa Romeo but rather pitch it as a premium brand. Assuming that Alfa would slot in under Maserati, that doesn't give Alfa much room if Masers will be targeted at BMW 5 series customers. It also leaves a big hole between Maserati and Ferrari. If the Quattroporte is replaces with something less than $120K, that leaves a big hole unless Ferrari also goes downmarket below the California, which has a MSRP of $192K.

    • See 3 previous
    • Th009 Th009 on Apr 21, 2010

      Aston Martin sales numbers make Bentley look like a volume brand. (Yes, the Continental GT does fit into that bracket, too.)

  • Twotone Twotone on Apr 21, 2010

    Maseratis are already cheap -- low-mileage 02/03 Coupe GTs for $25k. Twotone

  • CanadaCraig You can just imagine how quickly the tires are going to wear out on a 5,800 lbs AWD 2024 Dodge Charger.
  • Luke42 I tried FSD for a month in December 2022 on my Model Y and wasn’t impressed.The building-blocks were amazing but sum of the all of those amazing parts was about as useful as Honda Sensing in terms of reducing the driver’s workload.I have a list of fixes I need to see in Autopilot before I blow another $200 renting FSD. But I will try it for free for a month.I would love it if FSD v12 lived up to the hype and my mind were changed. But I have no reason to believe I might be wrong at this point, based on the reviews I’ve read so far. [shrug]. I’m sure I’ll have more to say about it once I get to test it.
  • FormerFF We bought three new and one used car last year, so we won't be visiting any showrooms this year unless a meteor hits one of them. Sorry to hear that Mini has terminated the manual transmission, a Mini could be a fun car to drive with a stick.It appears that 2025 is going to see a significant decrease in the number of models that can be had with a stick. The used car we bought is a Mk 7 GTI with a six speed manual, and my younger daughter and I are enjoying it quite a lot. We'll be hanging on to it for many years.
  • Oberkanone Where is the value here? Magna is assembling the vehicles. The IP is not novel. Just buy the IP at bankruptcy stage for next to nothing.
  • Jalop1991 what, no Turbo trim?
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