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Frankfurt Auto Show Part 2: The secret behind Maserati sales

Maserati Quattroporte Frankfurt Auto Show September 2013Maserati Quattroporte at the Frankfurt Auto Show 2013.

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This is part two of a 5-part series dedicated to the Frankfurt Auto Show. You can read Part 1 about Tesla here. I was lucky enough to speak with Thomas Kern from Maserati Germany. At BSCB I have been receiving a few queries from you readers about the exceptionally high sales figure Maserati recently communicated (17,000 sales in H1 2013). Well this figure actually corresponds to orders, and has since increased to 20,000 at the end of August. All good and well, but according to Mr Kern Maserati is actually predicting 16,500 sales worldwide in 2013.

Maserati Ghibli Frankfurt Auto Show September 2013Maserati Ghibli at the Frankfurt Auto Show 2013

Still, this figure will be an all-time record for the brand, beating its previous best of 9,000 in 2008. Ghibli projections are 20,000 annual sales, and Maserati hopes this model will account for 40% of its total. Projections for the Levante SUV, planned to launch in Q2 2015, are similar at 20,000 annual units once the model hits its cruise level in 2016-2017. So the target of 50,000 global sales by 2016 is what Maserati is still tabling on, even though it appeared outlandish when announced last year. Let’s just say if Maserati continues at the same growth level as the one displayed this year, it’s looking good indeed.

Mercedes A-Class Germany September 2013. Picture courtesy of Auto BildThe sales charts don’t lie: the new gen Mercedes A-Class is everywhere…

This German update is brought to you by Mercedes-Benz.

Given this is a rather short post, I thought I’d complete it by giving you my impression of the car landscape I saw in Germany today, keeping in mind this is based on what I could see from the train and the 30 minutes I walked around Frankfurt-am-Main so not at all representative but a good snapshot nevertheless. Firstly, the new generations BMW 1 Series, Mercedes A-Class and E-Class are present in droves on the streets, so the German sales charts are not lying on that one! I also saw a Lancia Ypsilon and my first Opel Cascada…

Street Scene Frankfurt Auto Show September 2013I noticed a lot of station wagons in the streets of Frankfurt-am-Main…

My second observation is the strong prevalence of station wagons. Given this is not something we can deduct from the traditional monthly ranking I publish, I thought it would be worth mentioning. Between one third and half of all BMW 3 Series, 5 Series, Audi A4, VW Passat and Mercedes E-Class I saw were station wagons, so the same segments as in Italy, only with a lower SW ratio… If you have access to SW data for Germany, please contact me so we can put this observation to the stats test!

This Post Has 8 Comments
  1. At 31 Aug 2013: 9.5k orders for Quattroporte, 6.5k for Ghibli, 4.5k for Granturismo/Grancabrio.
    More than 10k orders in the US (!!!), around 4.7k in China, 3k in Europe.
    Just to compare, Maserati registered 2.7k annual sales in the US in 2012 (all time record I think). Expected sales for the brand in 2013: 16k.

    here the data (slide no.26)
    http://www.fiatspa.com/it-IT/investor_relations/investors/presentazioni/FiatDocuments/2013/MainFirst_Auto_IAA_Investor_and_Analyst_Conference_Sep_10_2013.pdf

  2. Hi Matt,

    You are right station wagon are popular in Germany, between 15% to 20% of the market, depending on the year
    regards

  3. a great move by Maserati i already spotted a few new Quattroportes, still waiting to spot a Ghibli. btw its sad that Mercedes isn’t making a 3 doors A-Klasse. BMW & Audi both offers 3 door 1 Series & 3 door A3.

  4. Station-wagon sales of the VW Passat are between 80 and 90 % of the total Passat sales in Germany. If I find a source I will post it to you.

  5. Ghibli will disturb bmw, audi and mercedes sales… At last a strong competitive premium italian brand make a great model with reasonable price

  6. Maseratis can be seen daily in central Tokyo. Quattroporte and Gran Turismo are seen as more exclusive alternatives to S class and 6 series I suppose. Unlike Germany, station wagons seem to have disappeared from the automotive landscape here, except for delivery businesses. I really liked the last generation Nissan Stagea, but it was never replaced.

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