The company was ramping up output of the Ghibli and Quattroporte just a year ago as the luxury marque experienced a 171-percent sales explosion in the US market and a 137-percent jump globally. The momentum was not sustained into 2015, however, and the Grugliasco plant outside Turin, Italy, began scaling back production by March.
An unnamed source now tells Reuters the factory will completely halt Ghibli and Quattroporte production for at least a week, briefly laying off approximately 2,000 workers as the company attempts to adjust output to match waning demand.
FCA chief Sergio Marchionne earlier this year dismissed the trend as a natural settling of sales as the current generations of both models enter their third year on the market. One dealer lawsuit suggests there may be another explanation for the discrepancy, accusing Maserati of essentially bribing franchisees to falsify sales numbers by fraudulently marking test-drive vehicles as sold.
Maserati sales slid by nearly 34 percent in September, with year-to-date deliveries down by 8.2 percent.
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