MASERATI Australia distributor Ateco Automotive has taken over the retail operation of the brand in Victoria, replacing Zagame Automotive, as it moves to take control of its sales and service business in its biggest market.

It has moved into the Zagame site in Melbourne’s high-end Swan Street in Richmond – currently the showroom for Alfa Romeo and Lamborghini – which was previously a Penfold Holden building.

Speaking to GoAutoNews Premium, Maserati Australia and New Zealand chief operating officer Glen Sealey said Maserati Melbourne will be a full sales, parts and service location with 100 per cent Maserati staff.

“It’s what we need to take the next stages in Maserati and it’s what our customers expect from the brand,” he said.

“It is a standalone facility in a great location of high-end vehicle retailers – the only ones not there, I think, are Porsche and Bentley.”

He said the new location would be a springboard for new products from Maserati, starting with the MC20 sportscar to be shown in May with an early 2021 delivery.

A variety of electrified vehicles, both plug-in hybrid and full-electric, are also in the pipeline.

The next-generation GranTurismo and GranCabrio will be the trident brand’s first models to adopt 100 per cent electric drivetrains and will be built in Turin.

The move by Ateco marks the end of the association by Zagame Automotive with the brand in Melbourne.

Zagame built a $15 million dedicated Maserati showroom in 2014 at the corner of Swanston and Victoria Streets in Melbourne’s CBD, alongside the Audi Centre, as the second brand showroom in Melbourne.

Now Maserati Australia, New Zealand and South Africa – under the Ateco Automotive umbrella – has opened the single dealership for the brand at 362-368 Swan Street in Richmond, just down the road from the outgoing Zagame-operated Maserati showroom.

Mr Sealey said it was not an unusual move for Ateco.

“We had the retail business of Ferrari and Maserati in Sydney, and in Auckland and Cape Town,” he said.

“We have a retail operation in Johannesburg. We look at retail when we think it is appropriate, because we believe it is good business and shows our confidence in the brand and the business plan to have our own outlet.”

He said Ateco had a “terrific partner” in Maserati with Zagame Automotive and was “very appreciative” of the investment Zagame had made in the brand in Victoria.

“But we need to get the maximum traction in our biggest market as we head towards a lot of new products,” Mr Sealey said.

“By 2023 the entire Maserati product portfolio will be new, with every model having a form of electrification.”

Zagame Automotive last month also lost the Lotus distributorship and retail operation for Victoria, as that business moved to Simply Sports Cars.

Zagame spokesman Paul Ellis said the loss of Maserati and Lotus at the same time was “just a coincidence” and not related to any change within Zagame Automotive Group.

By Neil Dowling