Fiat's $115,000 Maserati Defies U.S. Slump, Gas CostsBy Mike Ramsey
July 10 (Bloomberg) -- Fiat SpA has figured out how to beat the slump in U.S. auto sales caused by a slowing economy and record gasoline prices: sell a $115,000 sports car that gets 12 miles a gallon.
Sales of Fiat's Maseratis jumped 20 percent in the U.S. last month and are up 16 percent for the year to 1,353 vehicles, according to Autodata Corp. in Woodcliff Lake, New Jersey. Sales of all luxury cars have dropped 15 percent, and total vehicle sales are down 10 percent.
The Grand Prix-inspired Maseratis serve a niche of buyers who want something more exotic than Daimler AG's Mercedes-Benz, yet more affordable than Italian competitors Ferrari and Lamborghini, said Wes Brown, automotive analyst at Iceology, a Los Angeles-based market research firm.
``If you've got money, you want people to know you've got money, and people want to find something that not everybody has,'' Brown said. ``They are saying, `I don't want a BMW or Mercedes, which you can see on every corner.'''
Ferraris, also produced by Turin, Italy-based Fiat, cost more than $210,000 and have a years-long waiting list, Ruggero Mango, a marketing analyst for the brand, said in January. Lamborghinis, produced by a unit of Wolfsburg, Germany-based Volkswagen AG, start at $190,600.
Ferrari sales slumped 9 percent in June and 3.9 percent for the first half of the year, according to Autodata. Volkswagen didn't provide sales figures for Lamborghini.
Increased Dealerships
Fueling Maserati's growth are new models and an expanded network of 54 U.S. dealers, up from 32 six years ago, said Paul Faletti, vice president of sales at Maserati North America, based in Englewood Cliffs, New Jersey.
Customers see Maserati as more exotic than its primary competitors, the Mercedes S-Class or Bayerische Motoren Werke AG's 7-series sedans, Faletti said.
``Our biggest challenge is familiarity,'' he said in an interview. ``There is a perception in the marketplace that these cars are two or three times the price they really are.''
The typical Maserati buyer is a 54-year-old male with household income of $750,000, Maserati spokesman Jeff Ehoodin said.
Pat and Ron Eastman, who live near San Jose, California, bought a 2007 Maserati Quattroporte sedan in February for $108,000, replacing a Mercedes S-Class.
``This car is basically for play,'' said Pat Eastman, a 56- year-old money manager. ``It handles beautifully.'' Her husband, Ron, a 58-year-old venture capitalist, drives to work in a Toyota Motor Corp. Prius hybrid.
Fuel Economy
The 405-horsepower Maserati GranTurismo coupe has a top speed of 177 miles (285 kilometers) per hour, and accelerates from 0 to 60 in 5.1 seconds. Its Ferrari-built V-8 engine gets 13 miles per gallon in the city and 19 on the highway, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
The Quattroporte, with a list price starting at around $120,000, reaches 167 miles per hour and goes from 0 to 60 in 5.5 seconds. It delivers 12 mpg in the city and 18 on the highway.
The manufacturer is required to pay a ``gas guzzler'' tax on the sale of each vehicle of $2,100 for the GranTurismo and $2,600 for the Quattroporte, according to the EPA.
Worldwide Maserati sales rose 33 percent to about 7,500 cars last year, while sales in the U.S., its biggest market, climbed 21 percent to 2,541, Ehoodin said. The company's global sales goal this year is 9,000 vehicles, Fiat said in a January presentation.
Prices in Italy
In Italy, the GranTurismo starts at 114,100 euros and the Quattroporte sells for 116,400 euros.
Maserati turned profitable last year for the first time since Fiat bought the carmaker in 1993. The company may limit sales growth to maintain exclusivity, he said.
Sales of Toyota's Lexus, the top-selling luxury brand in the U.S., fell 30 percent in June and are down 15 percent this year.
``When times get tougher, they are losing people at the lower edge of luxury,'' said Jim Hall, automotive product analyst at 2953 Analytics in Birmingham, Michigan, referring to Lexus. Those cars start at $31,000.
BMW sales fell 17 percent in June and 9 percent for the first half of 2008. Sales of Stuttgart-based Porsche SE declined 19 percent in the month and 16 percent so far this year. Mercedes sales dropped less than 1 percent in June and are up almost 1 percent this year.
Purchases of General Motors Corp. vehicles slid 16 percent in the first half of 2008 and sales at Ford Motor Co. declined 14 percent.
Deceleration
The U.S. economy has lost 438,000 jobs this year, pulling consumer confidence to a 16-year low. Wall Street firms alone have announced cuts of almost 90,000 jobs amid a collapse in sub-prime mortgage bonds. Home prices fell 6.3 percent in May from a year earlier, according to the National Association of Realtors, while regular gasoline prices reached a record $4.108 a gallon on July 6, according to motorist group AAA.
Maserati pulled out of the U.S. market as a closely held company in 1991. Fiat began offering the brand in the U.S. in 2002 with the Spyder coupe. In 2004, it released the Quattroporte, designed by Ferrari's styling group Pininfarina.
Earlier this year, Maserati also began selling the Pininfarina-designed GranTurismo, said Bill Morell, sales manager at Foreign Cars Italia in Charlotte, North Carolina.
``Maserati has a niche,'' Morell said. ``Exclusivity is a big factor. When the client pulls up to the country club in a Maserati, it's going to have a different impact than an S- Class.''
To contact the reporter on this story: Mike Ramsey in Southfield, Michigan, at mramsey6bloomberg.net
Source: http://www.alfabb.com/bb/forums/other-italian-cars/27648-maserati-granturismo-6.html#post594389
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