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Our reporter Yang Rangchen and Shi Yingjing reported from Shanghai

Recently, there was news that Stellantis Group was considering selling its ultra-luxury car brand Maserati to Chinese automakers. In addition, the Italian government is currently negotiating cooperation with Chery Holding Group (hereinafter referred to as "Chery"). Against this background, the news that Chery has become a potential buyer of the ultra-luxury brand has become very popular.

In this regard, a reporter from China Business News recently verified with Chery and Stellantis Group respectively. A relevant person in charge of Chery told reporters that he was not clear about Chery's acquisition of the Maserati brand. The relevant person in charge of the Stellantis Group in China told reporters that the company acknowledged that the ever-changing market and temporary conditions may cause fluctuations, but the Stellantis Group reiterated its commitment to its 14 iconic brands. "At the beginning of the group's establishment, the company stated that each brand had a 10-year window to build their sustainable and profitable businesses."

At the same time, the reporter noticed that the Stellantis Group previously stated in a statement that it had no intention of selling Maserati and would not promote its merger with other luxury brands under its umbrella.

Maserati sales in China slow

Although the rumors of taking over the ultra-luxury brand Maserati were denied by both parties involved, the leakage of relevant information was not without reason.

According to the Stellantis Group's 2024 semi-annual report, the Stellantis Group's operating income in the first half of this year was 85 billion euros, a decrease of 14% from the same period last year. The Stellantis Group stated that this was due to declining sales and poor structure; at the same time, the company's net profit was 5.6 billion euros, a decrease of 48% from the same period last year. The Stellantis Group stated that this was due to the decline in sales and the adverse effects of foreign exchange factors and restructuring costs.

At the same time, the performance of the Stellantis Group in the Chinese, Indian and Asia-Pacific markets also declined. Its operating income in the first half of 2024 reached 1.072 billion euros, a year-on-year decrease of 914 million euros. The adjusted operating profit was 57 million euros, a decrease of 237 million euros from the same period last year. The adjusted operating profit margin fell 9.5% year-on-year to 5.3%.

Maserati's performance was also not satisfactory. Maserati's shipments, net revenue, adjusted operating profit margin and other indicators all declined in the first half of this year. The shipments decreased by 8,800 vehicles from the same period last year to only 6,500 vehicles; the net revenue decreased by more than 50%, a decrease of 678 million euros from the same period last year to 631 million euros, and the adjusted operating profit margin turned from positive to negative, falling by more than 200 million euros.

According to data released by Cui Dongshu, secretary-general of the China Passenger Car Association, from January to June 2024, Maserati's import sales in the Chinese market were 214, 89, 129, 140, 109 and 96 respectively, totaling 777 vehicles, with a cumulative growth rate of 70%.

In response, Stellantis said that despite macroeconomic uncertainties, the company reiterated that its operating goal of "achieving double-digit adjusted operating profit margin and positive industrial free cash flow in 2024" remains unchanged.

Unlike the Stellantis Group, Chery has had good sales performance recently. According to Chery's official data, it sold about 195,800 vehicles in July, a year-on-year increase of 30.1%. Among them, 90,200 vehicles were exported, a year-on-year increase of 16.8%; new energy vehicle sales were 45,400, a year-on-year increase of 254.5%. From January to July, Chery sold a total of 1.2964 million vehicles, a year-on-year increase of 45.4%.

At the same time, data from the China Passenger Car Association showed that sales in the narrow passenger car retail market decreased by 2.2% year-on-year in July this year, but Chery's year-on-year growth rate in July this year reached 30.1%, making it the only automobile company in the industry to achieve "double growth" in new energy vehicles and fuel vehicles, and "double growth" in domestic and overseas markets in the first half of this year.

Chery is under pressure to transform

Despite the continuous growth in sales, Chery has also been facing considerable performance pressure recently.

According to relevant media reports, in July this year, a Chery employee revealed that there was forced overtime work within Chery, with overtime hours exceeding 20 hours per week, and no overtime pay, only a 10 yuan meal allowance. At the same time, employees' overtime and rest time was strictly limited, and the last-place employees were eliminated based on the overtime hours.

At that time, Chery responded to the above incident and stated that the news about Chery's "illegal overtime" was unconfirmed and false information.

At the same time, Chery's "345" strategy has also attracted public attention. A screenshot of Chery's July management committee meeting was circulated on the Internet. It mentioned that in terms of improving the efficiency, work quality and work ability of researchers, "it is necessary to establish a human efficiency model for the business segment. Remember not to understand it as a simple addition and subtraction, and truly achieve 3 people doing the work of 5 people and getting the salary of 4 people."

In response to this, a relevant person in charge of Chery told reporters that the above content is true, but many comments on the Internet have ignored the background and connotation and completely interpreted it in the wrong direction.

Chery Group spokesperson Jin Yi-bo said that the company has become one of the fastest growing enterprises in the automotive industry. It has repeatedly encountered excessive attention in the short term, causing negative impacts. This may be an inevitable "lesson" in Chery's rapid growth process.

However, Zhang Xiang, secretary general of the International Intelligent Transportation Technology Association, believes that overtime and the "345" strategy will not have a serious impact on Chery, but improvements are needed. "At present, there is a general overcapacity in the automotive industry, and many factories are short of orders. Overtime is not the crux of the problem."

The reporter noticed that according to the Fortune Global 500 list released recently, Chery made its debut on the list, ranking 385th. Despite being ranked among the top 500 companies in the world, Chery faces considerable pressure in terms of sales targets and new energy transformation.

In addition, the sales performance of the Hongmeng Intelligent Driving member S7 jointly developed by Chery and Huawei has also been relatively average since its launch. According to official data from Hongmeng Intelligent Driving, the monthly sales of the S7 have remained at around 2,500 units since its launch at the end of 2023. In contrast, the monthly sales of the M7 jointly developed by Huawei and Seres have reached about 16,600 units.

In January this year, Chery Chairman Yin Tongyue stated that this year Chery Group will continue to put operational quality first, and on the basis of rapid growth in 2023, continue to maintain high-quality development that exceeds the industry growth rate. The goal is to exceed the industry's sales growth rate by 10-20 percentage points.

According to the China Association of Automobile Manufacturers, my country's total automobile sales will exceed 31 million in 2024, a year-on-year increase of more than 3%. Based on this data, Chery Group's sales growth rate target this year will reach 13%-23%. In other words, Chery Group's annual sales target is between 2.126 million and 2.314 million vehicles. So far, Chery Group has achieved about 61% of its annual sales target.

"Maserati's sales are very poor and it has been in long-term losses. The Stellantis Group has too many brands, while Chery lacks high-end brands. If the deal is reached, it will be beneficial to both parties," Zhang Xiang told reporters.

(Editor: Shi Yingjing Reviewer: Tong Haihua Proofreader: Yan Jingning)