Maserati owner Stellantis has a new CEO starting today, and there’s fresh speculation the company is looking to off-load the Italian brand as its sales continue to slide
According to Reuters, Stellantis – which owns Maserati among a swathe of brands including Alfa Romeo and Fiat – is still considering selling Maserati as new Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa officially starts as CEO today, June 23, 2025.
It comes as the automaker – which celebrated its 110th anniversary in 2024 – continues to deny rumours, with a Stellantis spokesperson telling Reuters, “Respectfully, Maserati is not for sale”.
Maserati has been the worst performing brand of more than a dozen automakers in the Stellantis group, with a 57 per cent global sales decline in 2024 including a 40.9 per cent slide in Australia.
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The sales slide saw Maserati post a financial loss of €260 million ($464 million) for 2024, and – unlike brands such as Audi and Mercedes-Benz – it doesn’t have any new models set for launch this year to turn the brand around.
While the Grecale SUV was the best-selling Maserati in 2024, production of the Levante SUV and Quattroporte sedan ended, with their replacements not due until 2027 and 2028 respectively.
It also dropped the Ghibli sedan – a BMW 5 Series, Audi A6 and Mercedes-Benz E-Class competitor – and has no plans for a direct successor.
Maserati also dropped its V8 engines entirely, while brands including BMW and Ferrari – the latter of which Maserati has previously shared powertrains with – have added hybrid tech to their V8 models to enable them to continue for the foreseeable future.
Reports of a potential sale surfaced under previous Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who said Stellantis wouldn’t offload any of its brands but then quit the company last December.
These remarks came after then-Stellantis chief financial officer Natalie Knight told media in July 2024: “There could be some point in the future when we look at what’s the best home for [Maserati]”.
Reports gathered steam in early 2025 after Maserati posted a further 48 per cent fall in sales over the first three months of 2025, with a 24.8 per cent decline in Australia over the same period.
Adding to the pressure, the April 2025 introduction of a 25 per cent United States (US) ‘automotive’ import tariff – and additional country-specific ‘reciprocal’ tariffs on top – saw Maserati’s future on shaky ground.
The US is Maserati’s biggest market, making up around half of its global sales, with the automaker importing every vehicle it sells there.
The pressure from the tariffs saw Stellantis hire consultancy firm McKinsey & Co to evaluate the impact the tariffs would have on Alfa Romeo and Maserati.
Unlike Maserati, Alfa Romeo has seen a strong start to 2025, with a 29 per cent global sales increase in the first quarter (January to March 2025), with the Alfa Romeo Junior – due to arrive in Australia during the third quarter of 2025 – leading the turnaround.
“Great credit to the Junior, welcomed with extreme enthusiasm,” said Alfa Romeo CEO Santo Ficili in a statement.
“With 35,000 orders since launch, it is kicking off the brand’s future, with the new Stelvio and new Giulia about to write yet another chapter in the history of Made in Italy.”
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