After years of losses, Maserati, the Italian exotic car brand, that has at times flirted with financial disaster over the course of its 93-year history, is on the verge of profitability and is carving out a larger share of the U.S. market thanks to the success of its flagship Quattroporte sedan.
The Quattroporte, which ranges in price from $100,000 to $120,000, competes with more mainstream luxury sedans like the BMW 7 Series and best-selling Mercedes-Benz S-Class from DaimlerChrysler AG. But with Maserati’s carefully managed image, dramatic styling and Ferrari-derived engines, the sedan carries a level of prestige similar to vehicles that cost twice as much.
Maserati, a unit of Fiat SpA and run alongside Ferrari — has managed to exploit a largely untapped niche of the luxury car market with the Quattroporte. It has drawn consumers interested in a practical sedan but for whom a BMW, Jaguar or Mercedes-Benz is too common while a Bentley or Aston Martin too impractical or expensive.
“They’re specifically trying to capture the $120,000 segment of the market,” says Milton Pedraza, the CEO of the Luxury Institute a firm which surveys wealthy car consumers earning at least $200,000 a year and with a net household worth of $5 million or more. “There are a lot of wealthy consumers looking for a family car but also looking to differentiate themselves from more mass-market BMWs and Mercedes-Benz’s.”
The Luxury Institute’s surveys show Maserati has managed to maintain levels of prestige above the vehicles it competes with on price.
“They’ve attained a higher level of sophistication and exclusivity than competitors at the same price point,” says Wes Brown, a partner in the Los Angeles automotive marketing research firm Iceology. “That ultimately puts them close in buyers’ minds to Aston Martin and Bentley and, naturally, Ferrari.”
Stoking those up-market perceptions has been a central focus of the company’s North American president and CEO, Jim Selwa. “We’re more in the luxury goods business than we are the car business,” said Mr. Selwa. “And, exclusivity is the biggest factor in that.”
With fewer advertising resources than its competitors given its smaller size, the company has largely relied on carefully chosen product placement for publicity, alongside minimal traditional ads. Its choices, which are personally approved by Mr. Selwa, have proven deft.
The company chose to put one of its roadsters on the ABC program “Desperate Housewives” and Fox’s “The OC” before they became hits. Since then, Maserati cars have appeared in the popular HBO series “The Sopranos” and “Entourage,” and in this summer’s “Ocean’s 13.”
“Product placement is a mainstay of our business, to be in the big hits is important,” added Mr. Selwa. “It’s hard to pick a ‘Sopranos’ or an ‘Ocean’s 13.’ You just have to have a good feel for it. Is this right or is this wrong? Am I the villain or the hero?”
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