2005 Quattroporte F1 New Clutch $0 Down $458/month!! on 2040-cars

Auto blog

Reid Bigland appointed CEO of Alfa Romeo, Maserati

There's been a big shakeup in Fiat Chrysler's leadership team, as head of US sales and FCA Canada CEO Reid Bigland will replace Harald Wester as the chief exec for Alfa Romeo and Maserati. Wester will retain his position as chief technical officer of FCA. Both men will hang onto their positions on FCA's Group Executive Council. The move is an interesting one considering the widely publicized issues at both Alfa and Maserati. Alfa Romeo's problems are almost too many to list. The brand has promised a full-scale return to the US market for more than a decade, but faced repeated delays. Its latest volume model, the Giulia, is being savaged by reviewers over quality issues, and the company has frequently pushed its upcoming CUV back. If that were the only problem, it'd be annoying, but according to Automotive News, Alfa's relaunch is also considerably over budget. Maserati is an entirely different can of worms. Alongside Alfa, it's been stung by a slow Chinese market. Profits are down, according to Automotive News, and it's been widely rumored that the company will delay its next sports car, the Alfieri, until 2018 – it was previously promised for this year. Meanwhile, two of its three other models, the Quattroporte and GranTurismo, are dangerously long in the tooth, and the Levante is still months away from US sales. Can Bigland sort these issues out? Maybe. As Sergio Marchionne said in his official statement, "[Bigland] has an extraordinary record of growing sales and market share in the US and Canada over the last 7 years at FCA, including leading the growth and positioning of the Ram and Dodge brands for part of that time."

Maserati ramping up production of Ghibli, Quattroporte

While Porsche may be relatively new to the four-door game, Maserati has been building the Quattroporte with few interruptions since 1963. But like its rival from Stuttgart, the Trident marque is rapidly shifting from a sports car company primarily to a manufacturer of high-end family transportation. Not only does it have the new Quattroporte on the market, but now it's got the Ghibli sedan as well and the Levante crossover on its way.
It's a gambit that's reaping huge benefits not only for Maserati itself but also for its newly merged parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is finding the mass market less lucrative than it once was and is positioning both Maserati and Alfa Romeo against other luxury marques like BMW, Audi and Porsche. As a result, Maserati is considerably expanding its production.
Last month, Maserati sold over 3,000 cars, putting it on track to double its sales from 2013. But it's not about to stop there. With growing demand for its authentically Italian luxury sedans, Maserati is shifting more workers to its assembly plant in the Turinese suburn of Grugliasco (where the QP and Ghibli are made) and shortening vacation time to ramp production up from 750 cars per week to 900.

Slow Chinese market delays Maserati and Alfa Romeo models

We already told you that Alfa Romeo was delaying the Giulia sedan and an unnamed CUV, but now things are getting worse. According to Bloomberg, Maserati has delayed the Alfieri sports car. And it's all China's fault. The faltering Chinese domestic market, which is experiencing its slowest period of growth in nearly three decades, is forcing Fiat Chrysler to rethink its plans for its Italian models, Bloomberg reports. Rather than going for models that would likely be popular in China, including the Alfa CUV and a larger sedan, the company will shift its focus and bring out updated MiTo and Giulietta hatchbacks, both of which would play better in Europe, an unnamed source within FCA told Bloomberg. This news is notable because it shows that FCA boss Sergio Marchionne's ambitious product transformation is not progressing as smoothly as planned. In the MiTo's case, the company is willing to go back on its original strategy. The subcompact hatch wasn't supposed to survive beyond 2016, but Bloomberg is reporting an update is due by the middle of next year. As for Maserati, well, there's not much to say. The Alfieri was supposed to go on sale next year, and now it's not. There's no word on how (or even if) Maserati's priorities will shift to another vehicle, or if this is simply a matter of money being distributed away from one of FCA's brands and toward another. Related Video: News Source: BloombergImage Credit: Andy Wong / AP Alfa Romeo Maserati Sergio Marchionne FCA alfa romeo giulia alfa romeo mito alfa romeo giulietta maserati alfieri