Maserati Cuts Production for a Month Due to Lack of Demand

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Maserati Cuts Production for a Month Due to Lack of Demand

19 Dec 2017, 20:18 UTC · by Mihnea Radu
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While most car manufacturers are talking about all-time high sales and employee bonuses for 2017, Maserati's people will be taking a month-long siesta.
5 photos More specifically, the Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans will stop being made between December 15 to January 15. Meanwhile, the Levante, which is doing slightly better, will be out of production from December 20 to January 15. And as for the GranTurismo and GranCabrio, they will be out from December 15 to January 8th, according to Automotive New Europe.
"It is clear that production is slowing down and investment in new models are on hold," union boss Federico Bellono told the publication.
On paper at least, adding an SUV to the roster seemed like the perfect solution to Maserati's slow sales. However, competition is harsher than ever, and the V6 engine just couldn't do a good enough job to hide the Levante's flaws.
About a year after the Quattroporte was launched, it because clear that Maserati was going to continue struggling, as production was slowed. In 2017 alone, the automaker shut down the line on two other occasions.
Problems with the Chinese economy are mostly to blame now. However, the country, which is now the world's largest producer of solar energy, has also become unwelcoming for gas guzzling cars. Meanwhile, the Levante PHEV is nowhere to be seen.
It's important to understand just how small the Trident brand is right now. Back in April, it delivered its 100,000 cars. So there are fewer Maseratis in the world then there are W222 Mercedes S-Class sedans.
In 2016, Maserati's sales volume in China broke 12,000, which marks an increase of 120 times over the 100 sales made in 2004, the company's first year operating there. Today, Maserati has around 30,000 customers in China, 38 percent of whom are women. So there's still room to grow. But we're not sure the new coupe models being planned are what people want.