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MASERATI Australia is close to adding two new dealerships to its roster, with new sites in Canberra and the Gold Coast expected to open next year joining the existing seven showrooms located in five states.

The new Canberra dealer will be John McGrath Auto Group. It is the first time the group has joined the Maserati family. It has a showroom currently under construction.

On the Gold Coast, existing Maserati franchisee AutoSports Group Ltd will create a second showroom.

Maserati Australia, New Zealand and South Africa chief operating officer Glen Sealey said he was also considering adding Wellington in New Zealand as a third location. The car-maker already has representation in Auckland (Winger) and Christchurch (Euromarque).

“We have the major cities covered and believe we have covered the market nicely when the two new ones come on-line,” he told GoAuto last week.

“We are conscious that we have to have profitable partners. I know that a profitable partner looks after their customer far better than one that isn’t.

“Therefore it is important to us that we have strong, profitable partners that can offer strong beneficial relationships with the customers.”

Mr Sealey said his business has single partner territories “so we have one dealer in each state with multiple outlets”.

“That’s an effective way for us as a small brand to ensure we get the right share in a multi-franchised environment. That’s a different strategy than most other brands.”

Asked why Maserati – which globally is part of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) – did not operate under its parent company’s wing, Mr Sealey said it was a long-standing structure for it to operate autonomously.

“FCA doesn’t have Maserati because that’s the structure around the world,” he said, referring to the position in Australia, where the Italian brand is distributed by European Automotive Imports, an offshoot of Neville Crichton’s Ateco Group.

“Maserati is separate with dedicated staff around the world,” Mr Sealey said. It has dedicated regional management in Hong Kong, and other regions are the same. It sits independently in Australia and runs its own business, as it does in other parts of the world.”

He said this allowed Maserati employees to have “an enviable focus on the brand”.

“It also makes the business flexible. It has a team that thinks about nothing but the Maserati brand. That comes through right down to the customer base,” Mr Sealey said.

“The fact that Maserati has its ‘Made In Italy’ identity as a core brand pillar shows how fiercely independent the brand is.”

By Neil Dowling

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