Maserati unable to meet Romanian demand for GranTurismo

“There have already been 17 orders in Romania for the new Maserati GranTurismo, launched in March in Geneva, and only five can be delivered in 2007,” Mike Costache, Country Manager for Maserati Romania told Business Standard. The starting price is €97,500, and  a variety of options can raise the price by a further €35,000. “Since Maserati entered the Romanian market in 2003, 57 cars have been sold, of which 18 in the first year and 16 in 2006,” Costache said. He added that the number of cars sold may reach 30 in 2007 alone, almost double the 2006 sales. These estimates are based on sales registered in the first five months of 2007, namely 11 cars, about 68 percent of sales posted in 2006.  Maserati daily manufactures 26 cars, sold through its showrooms in 57 countries worldwide. “What makes Maserati exclusive is the fact that we produce half a car a day, per country, according to a simple calculation,” Costache mentioned. He also said that 5,700 Maseratis were sold in 2006 internationally, of which 40 percent (2,280 cars) in the U.S. alone. The second-largest market is Germany, with about 900 cars sold, followed by Italy, with some 600. According to Costache, 10 years after Fiat took over Maserati in 1997, the latter reached its breakeven point. Fiat invested €500 million in the Italian factory at Modena.