7:07 am, June 14, 2023
Upmarket Italian brand Maserati is ‘keeping an eye’ on agency sales and isn’t ruling out introducing the business model to its UK dealer operation.
Maserati’s general manager for the UK and Scandinavia, Peter Charters, said he’s happy with both the current scale and operations of his UK dealer network – which currently operates in a traditional format – but didn’t dismiss rolling out agency agreements in the future.
Speaking to Car Dealer, he said: ‘As you would expect, we are keeping an eye on the agency model.
‘Stellantis is going down the agency route, which I’m sure they’ll be very successful at, but we’re looking at what works the best.’
The agency model sees the car manufacturer selling cars directly to consumers via its main website, often with a no-haggle pricing structure, and the dealer being paid a handling fee.
In theory, it allows the manufacturer to create a consistent sales process across its dealer network, while the dealer can focus on delivering excellent customer service.
Stellantis’s Alfa Romeo and DS Automobiles have already confirmed they will be switching to agency sales, although a memo leaked to Car Dealer in November 2022 showed Stellantis has delayed introducing the roll-out of agency agreements by six months to January 1, 2024.
At the time of the confirmation, Alfa Romeo’s then-managing director, Damien Dally, said the move was part of major plans to ‘improve customer service and experience’.
Maserati is positioned as Stellantis’s luxury nameplate – and, importantly, above Alfa Romeo and DS Automobiles.
With that in mind, agency sales could be a desirable route for Maserati, as it’s currently in the process of enforcing its place in the luxury car market.
‘We are not committed to it [agency sales], but we’re not saying we’ll never do it,’ Charters told us.
‘Maybe this is where we are slightly different from the other [Stellantis] brands, as we are on such a product offensive and rolling out a completely new retail environment – that’s enough to focus on for the time being.’
He added: ‘We’ll make a decision for the future at some point.’
Maserati currently has a 12-strong dealer network, with a solus site in Ascot, Berkshire, opening imminently.
Its newest dealership is H.R Owen’s posh £30m multi-franchise site in Hatfield, Hertfordshire, which is also the first to show off Maserati’s new ‘retail concept’ that mixes ‘lounge’ and ‘atelier’ vibes.
‘I would say over the last 20 years, maybe more, pretty much all manufacturers have gone for a clinical showroom environment with lighting that shows off the cars to the best of their ability,’ Charters said.
‘But what we’ve seen in our research is that the customer has moved a long way from that.
‘They’re looking for an environment where they feel warmth, they’re relaxed and they’re comfortable – not a high-pressure and clinical environment where they’re sold a car.
‘With our new concept, the customer doesn’t walk into the showroom and is greeted with six cars sitting there.
‘There’s a luxury Italian table with a coffee machine and bar stools around it where they can initially just have a chat – to build up a relationship.
‘Then they walk into the showroom, which is more muted and has a luxury coffee shop feeling.
‘This is where the cars are displayed but that’s almost the secondary part. There are also opportunities to personalise cars with large screens and 3D visualisations of the cars.
‘We think customers want that warmer, more engaging interaction.’
Charters added that all showrooms will transition to the new retail concept in around two years’ time to keep pace with the fast roll-out of new models.
The Italian company sold 720 cars in the UK last year and expects to double sales in 2023.
Its line-up comprises the GranTurismo four-seat coupe, the Ghibli and Quattroporte saloons and Levante SUV, but it’s recently been bolstered by the 621bhp MC20 supercar and the £60,000 Porsche Macan-sized Grecale SUV.
A pure-electric Grecale Folgore and next-generation GranTurismo will arrive later this year, while 2024 will see the introduction of electric versions of the GranTurismo and MC20 supercar plus a new Quattroporte, which is also expected to be electric.
