**maybe merge in September Sales thread?**

Maserati orders explode, 22,500 through September

Last year when Maserati revealed a plan to sell 50,000 units globally by 2015, it seemed like a pretty steep goal for an automaker that had sold just 6,300 units for the entire year. It turns out that goal may be a little on the conservative side. Through September, Automotive News Europe says the Italian automaker has already racked up 22,500 orders mainly on the backs of the redesigned Quattroporte and the all-new Ghibli, and there are still more new products in the pipeline.

Back in August, we heard that demand in China was playing a strong role in Maserati's big numbers in 2013, and this doesn't even include the upcoming Levante SUV, which Maserati CEO Harald Wester expects to add as many as 25,000 units to the mix when it goes on sale in 2015. According to the ANE report, the Quattroporte is still the most popular model with almost 10,000 orders so far this year, while the smaller and more affordable Ghibli is performing quite well with almost 8,000 orders; the aging, but soon-to-be-replaced, GranTurismo models have about 5,000 orders.

http://www.autoblog.com/2013/10/16/m...ugh-september/

 

Good job to Maserati, The new Quattroporte and Ghibli are stellar, and the GranTurismo while aged like the Jaguar XK is still a lucrative alternative to AM Vantages, MBZ SL's and BMW 6-Series

 

I bet FIAT group must be happy to hear this news!

But on the downside, exclusivity slowly ebbs away

 

Speaking of AM, it's amazing to contrast Maserati's recent success with Aston's struggles. I've never thought of Maserati as a more appealing brand, but obviously they understand their target marget.

 

Great observation. AM seems to have more brand recognition, but yes sales numbers dictate Maserati's are more appealing - though to be fair some Maserati's are far easier to aquire than some AM's

 

I think a lot of has to due with the fact that Maseratis feature a lot less compromises. Their technology is up to date, they're cheaper, and their sedans are actually usable. Aston effectively has several coupes, as the Rapide not only is very expensive but its rear seats are a joke.

 

That's a good point - the Quattroporte is far more achievable than the Rapide, which opens up Maserati's lower end to a much wider demographic (both in terms of being less expensive and for people who need a sedan). AM's low end is limited to the 2-seater V8 Vantage and is already 120k, so I guess the comparison is not all that fair. At the same time, I'm still surprised AM has not been able to take greater advantage in emerging markets like China.



Any hopes of exclusivity already vanished with the Ghibli, though. A 60k Maserati? We'll see them everywhere.

 

Going downmarket and loosing exclusivity seems to be the in thing these days. Ala CLA

 

I'm not sure why people are acting like this is new. Brands have been releasing "down market" cars for a while now. Hell, the Maserati biturbo of the 80s was a 3-series competitor. Other recent examples:

Lexus CT200h
BMW 1-series
Rolls Royce Ghost
Bentley Continental
Ferrari California
Audi A3
Range Rover Evoque

There's plenty more.

 

All cars I like

 

I don't think jwong77 was necessarily saying this trend is "new", just that everyone has been doing it lately. I also think it's a fair point that losing exclusivity is a much bigger deal for a smaller, high-end / niche brand like Maserati.

 

AM obviously wanted to take a page out of what Porsche was doing when the Panamera came into the market.

Thing is though, I have nothing against the Panamera design (even if some people may think its controversial-looking rear-end is a deal breaker)...........however, in a beauty contest, the Rapide wins hands down IMHO.

HOWEVER:

It appears that form came without function and yeah, the rear space of the Rapide leaves a lot to be desired. That and the Panamera outsells the Rapide by more than 3:1 (or maybe even more).

Anyways, back on topic:

Maserati realized that they needed an approach that leads to more volume........and thankfully, they delivered. The FIAT GROUP has figured out how to position Maserati and that's by placing it as a premium mass-market brand (while Ferrari handles premium exclusivity)

And my goodness, that all-new Quattroporte V8 GTS looks simply fantastic.

 

how can AM be compared with Maserati? Ghibli diesel competes with 5 series in pricing in Germany. Cheapest AM is almost double the price.

 

Is the Ghibli even being delivered yet?

In any case, we already discussed some of the demographic and pricing issues above. With that in mind, even the old GranTurismo order figure reported in the article would double total AM sales across their entire range. The Quattroporte represents several multiples. That's what I was talking about when comparing AM to Maserati.

 

Ghibli should be hitting U.S. dealers sometime next month.