After more than 20 years as chairman of the prancing horse, Montezemolo in 2013 pushed for a cap on sales volume to help maintain exclusivity. The company sold 7,318 units in 2012, but the executive wanted to throttle back production to just 7,000 units annually.
At the time, Montezemolo opined that Ferrari’s engine supply agreement for Maserati would help pad revenue despite the volume restriction.
Amid finalization of the merger between Fiat and Chrysler, Marchionne recently announced a five-year plan that included an increase in Ferrari sales to 10,000 units in the coming years.
Marchionne may consider 10,000 units to be sufficiently exclusive without throwing away potential revenue, though he has not explicitly talked of any cap on Ferrari production. Meanwhile, the parent company plans to expand Maserati from a niche luxury brand to a semi-volume marque — increasing sales from 15,000 units to 75,000 within four years.
Friction between the executives appears to approaching a boiling point after Montezemolo appeared at the Italian Grand Prix and downplayed the rumors, arguing that he plans to stick around for at least three more years and will be the first to announce any change of plan.
“On volume and economic results Luca has done an outstanding job,” Marchionne said in reaction, as quoted by ESPN. “When the company has a change of plan, or if there is no longer a convergence of ideas, things change. Nobody is indispensable.”
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