Maserati - first profit in 17 years!

In the first half, Maserati broke even, which is a big improvement from its 26-million euro loss in the same period last year. The carmaker expects the second half to be even better.

"This year, Maserati will definitely be in the black for the full year," Maserati Sales Director Raffaele Fusilli said.

It seems that the arrival of the newly launched Granturismo will make a big difference for the company. It will go on salein Italy later this month and in the rest of continental Europe in September. A big success, this time on the North American market, is also the Quattroporte Automatica.

Maserati expects the two new cars to help increase 2007 unit sales to 7,600 from 5,600 in 2006. Next year, Maserati plans to sell more than 8,000 cars.