Maserati franchisees are readying themselves for a “hell of a ride” over a coming 10 months set to bring an influx of new products and a new corporate identity (CI) promising to transform their dealerships’ fortunes. For Peter Charters, general manager of the Maserati’s North Europe operation, one of the victories will be emerging from 2023 with a network of franchised partners in profit for the first time in a very long time.

“Half of my experience has been in network development, so the dealers and how they perform is something very close to my heart,” says Charters, who has been at the helm of Stellantis-owned Maserati GB for three years, having previously been Vauxhall’s retail network development director and head of sales.

Asked how long it was since Maserati retailers made a profit, Charters admits: “I've not been here long enough to tell you how long it’s been.”

But he is confident about retailers’ future prospects. “It’s been a tough period for dealers within the Maserati brand, there’s no getting away from that,” Charters says.

“We came close to breakeven for the network last year and this year, with the introduction of the new models, our anticipation is that the dealer network as a whole will be into profitability and then grow from strength to strength.”