“Not for sale”: Stellantis bangs its fist on the table in the face of BYD’s ambitions for Maserati

We know that the Stellantis group is not really in an enviable situation, and this has been going on for several years. The Franco-Italian firm is facing many difficulties, while its new boss Antonio Filosa now wants to redress the situation. This is how he put in place a vast strategic plan of 60 billion euros to get the company back on track. This should focus on four main brands, while the others will become secondary. And among them, there is Maserati.

The Italian manufacturer is going through a period of very strong turbulence, and represents less than 1% of the European group's sales. And in order to survive, it could now move closer to China. A partnership with JAC and Huawei had been mentioned a few weeks earlier. But now Automotive News Europe is reporting a new twist. And for good reason: according to Automotive News Europe, another Chinese company is very interested in Maserati. Unsurprisingly, this is BYD, the world's electric car giant.

The latter is more than ever keen to develop even further in Europe, and particularly in the luxury segment. And if he has already launched his subsidiary Denza, he wants to go even further. On May 13, Stella Li, vice-president of BYD, spoke to Bloomberg. And she didn't beat around the bush. She indeed judged the Maserati brand “very interesting” for BYD. However, she indicates that no decision has yet been made at this time.

However, we must clearly distinguish two different discussions. According to Automotive News Europe, BYD is negotiating on the one hand the takeover of underutilized European factories – Stellantis, but also Renault and Nissan are mentioned – to produce locally and circumvent the customs duties of 17 to 35% imposed by Brussels on Chinese electric cars. And on the other, it separately evaluates the takeover of luxury brands in difficulty, including Maserati. The two files do not necessarily overlap: what BYD mainly confirms are the factories.

Is a buyout expected?

But what does the main interested party think? Well, on the Italian brand’s side, it’s not really the same story. This is how the general director of operations, Santo Ficili expressed himself on this subject. And he leaves no room for doubt: “Maserati is not for sale”.

However, the businessman does not rule out technological partnerships with Chinese manufacturers. At the same time, experts are skeptical about a possible takeover by BYD, even if this option is not “unrealistic” either.

The latter believe that “this kind of information seems very attractive in a press release, but from an economic point of view, it makes little sense”. And this for a simple reason. BYD posted disappointing results in its home market of China. Which could considerably slow down the ambitions of the electric car giant in Europe. Even if the firm was a hit in France in May, as we explained.

Note also that BYD has since calmed things down: questioned by Automotive News, the manufacturer specified that it was continuing to “study” the file without having taken the slightest concrete step. A reminder that between a mark of interest displayed at a conference and a buyout operation, there is a gulf.

The latter, based in Shenzhen, now wants to accelerate on the Old Continent, in particular by installing factories there. And this in order to avoid the customs duties currently in force on electric cars. Especially since Maserati has its own factory in Modena, Italy. And this could obviously interest BYD, which could use it to assemble its cars there. However, it is also possible that the manufacturer is considering the acquisition of other brands, without saying more for the moment.