Maserati Stops Production of its Models

TopSpeed

By Kirby Garlitos

Published Dec 20, 2017

It's not the first time this has happened, and it probably won't be the last either

Maserati is having a hard time selling its vehicles recently, and as a result, the Italian automaker is stopping production on most of its vehicles until January 15. According to Automotive News Europe, Maserati will halt production of the Ghibli and Quattroporte for the next month. Likewise, production of the GranTurismo and Grancabrio models have been put on hold until January 8 while the Levante’s production will stop from December 20 to January 15.

These production stoppages are more than just bad news for Maserati; they’re potentially catastrophic if the Italian automaker doesn’t turn its fortunes around quick. The Italian automaker can spin this around anyway it can, but at the end of the day, halting production of one model, let alone the entire lineup, is a sign that Maserati isn’t selling as many models as it’s building. It’s a classic case of low demand torpedoing the brand’s supply chain.

The report from Automotive News Europe adds that slow sales in China are largely to blame for the stoppage. That was the case earlier this year when Maserati stopped production of the Levante on two separate occasions. It said publicly that new import rules in the country were the big reason for the production stoppage. But given its current predicament, it’s easy to read the tea leaves and see that there’s more to it than “import rules.”

For now, it’s unclear how Maserati plans to jolt life back to its lineup. There have been reports that the Levante will be expanded to add a high-performance GTS variant that will have 570 horsepower coming out of Ferrari’s 3.8-liter bi-turbo V-8 engine. There’s also been talk that a new GranTurismo is still on the cards. Word on that front suggests that Maserati will use a new all-aluminum platform for the performance coupe, to go with a powertrain that will come with an electrically driven compressor.

As ambitious as Maserati’s plans are, it’s not going to help clear up the mess the company is in now. The lack of demand in China is alarming considering how big and fruitful that market is for performance and luxury brands.

Maserati will halt production once again due to slow sales for the company’s models, and assembly of most products won’t get back underway until January 15. Slow sales in China are largely to blame for the latest stoppage. Let’s hope that Maserati gets out of this rut quickly because if it doesn’t, the roof may fall quickly on the Italian automaker.

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Maserati Stops Production of its Models

Maserati Ghibli

Maserati Quattroporte

Maserati GranTurismo

Maserati GranCabrio

Maserati Levante