Maserati hangs hope on Levante SUV success

Maserati hopes its profits would recover next year when the brand launches its first SUV.
This hope was expressed by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne recently.
Marchionne said the launch of the Levante SUV in the first half of 2016 will boost Maserati’s earnings.
“We need to wait until then,” he told analysts.
Fiat Chrysler this month began pre-production of the Levante in its Mirafiori, Turin, plant.
Full production starts in January and the SUV is expected to debut at the Detroit auto show in the same month.
The Levante is based on the Ghibli platform. Its pricing is likely to start at more than 100,000 euros.
The SUV will compete with the Porsche Cayenne, as well as the upcoming Bentley Bentayga and Jaguar F-Pace.
Marchionne said Maserati is watching carefully its product mix because an increasing shift to sales of the entry level Ghibli from the Quattroporte flagship hits profitability.
Fiat Chrysler Chief Financial Officer Richard Palmer said Maserati was hit by lower sales of the Quattroporte, particularly in China where shipments were down 37 percent.
He said the brand’s shipments to North America declined by 5 percent while European volume was up 10 percent.
Marchionne said decreasing demand for imported luxury vehicles in China looks like a permanent change in the market.
FCA is no longer able to extract a significant margin for Maserati and Jeep models exported to China, he said.