Maserati CEO: No Price War With Rivals, Focus On Value

Maserati's CEO has stated that the brand will never get involved in a price war with its rivals. Instead, it will rely on customers paying what a vehicle is worth to maintain its climbing profit margins. According to Automotive News, Davide Grasso commented on the so-called price wars after analysts expressed concern about the effects drastic cuts might have on the automotive industry. In short, there are concerns that the market might be flooded with cars, having the opposite effect.

"Pricing is a very critical element in general, but particularly for a luxury brand. That's why it's important that we're not led by volumes," said Grasso. "Our goal is to make the best cars we can make for somebody to appreciate it and pay the price."

Analysts believe Tesla's decision to slash the prices of its EV may encourage more brands to follow suit. It paid off big time for Tesla, and we've already seen several manufacturers do the same.

Maserati sold 15,300 units in the year's first half, leading to an adjusted operating profit of $133 million. This translates to a profit margin improvement of 9.2%, up from 6.6%. The fear is that Maserati might find cost cuts alluring to reach its planned figure of 15% faster.

"We would be completely strategically off-balance if we did that," said Grasso.

The Maserati Grecale is one of the main models leading the sales charge. With a starting price of under $66,000, it's not overly expensive for a car wearing such a prestigious badge.

Maserati also has several products in the pipeline and will reinvent itself as an electric SUV and supercar maker. The MC20 and the MCXtrema track toy are sitting pretty as the new halo models, and the Italian automaker is in the process of culling its older models.

The growth has been slow but steady, and that's likely the way Grasso wants to keep it. Grasso's earlier comments about volumes make a clear statement of what he has in mind for the brand. He's not going after sheer sales figures. "It's something that is not on the horizon for us; we are busy enough with managing the brand and the complexity of the business these days," said Grasso.