On November 8, at the Yangwang U9 Xtreme speed record celebration event in Abu Dhabi, BYD Executive Vice President Li Ke addressed rumors of acquiring Maserati: "Perhaps we were more interested a few years ago, but now we have forged our own path, and the direction is right. Moreover, the fastest car in the world today is ours." This statement brings a provisional end to more than a year of acquisition speculation.

The Yangwang brand has already proven with its technological strength that BYD does not need the "nostalgic halo" of a century-old brand to establish itself in the luxury market. On November 6, the Yangwang U9X set a new global production car record with a top speed of 503.17 km/h, receiving dual certification from the FIA and Guinness, with technological value far exceeding Maserati's combustion-engine legacy.

Maserati's predicament: from peak to abyss

The data reveals a harsh reality. In 2017, Maserati's sales in China reached 14,498 units, with global sales of about 50,000 vehicles; by 2025, global sales were only 7,900 units, a plunge of over 70% from 26,600 in 2023, with a net loss of €840 million and an operating margin of -27.3%.

In the first half of 2026, sales further fell to 2,700 units. In the Chinese market, full-year sales in 2025 were only 1,374 units, shrinking by more than 90% from the peak.

Why can't Maserati sell anymore? First, product iteration has stalled. The best-selling Levante and Ghibli have been discontinued, and successors will not be launched until 2027-2028;

Second, the electrification transition has failed. "Oil-to-electric" products such as the Grecale Folgore lag behind in intelligent experience, with end prices plummeting from 898,800 yuan to 358,800 yuan, causing the price system to collapse completely;

Third, Stellantis Group itself is struggling to survive. In 2025, it had a net loss of €22.3 billion, and 70% of its €60 billion investment went to core brands such as Jeep and Ram, with Maserati not among the top priorities.

Who might take over Maserati? JAC may be the only solution

Since BYD has withdrawn, who would be interested in Maserati? The most realistic plan at present is the "Maextro-style" cooperation between JAC Motors and Huawei. On September 30, JAC Motors announced and confirmed that it is in talks with Huawei and Stellantis on three-party cooperation intentions.

This plan benefits all three parties: for JAC, it can absorb 85% of the idle production capacity of the Maextro super factory and amortize tens of billions of fixed asset investment; for Huawei, it can export intelligent technology to the ultra-luxury segment; for Stellantis, it can complete "loss cutoff + revitalization" at minimal cost and put idle capacity at its Cassino and Modena plants in Italy to use.

If the cooperation is finalized, it is expected to adopt an SKD model of "body-in-white production at a Hefei plant in China + interior finishing at an Italian plant," with the first model landing by the end of 2027.

As for the acquisition price, considering Maserati's current annual sales of fewer than 8,000 vehicles and annual loss of €840 million, the brand valuation could be as low as €1-1.5 billion, or even a transaction in the form of "a symbolic price of €1 + assuming debt." It is not impossible!

Is Maserati worth acquiring for Chinese automakers?

For Chinese automakers such as Changan, Dongfeng, and GAC that have not yet succeeded in the luxury market, the value of acquiring Maserati is limited. First, there is a fundamental conflict between the brand's DNA and the new energy transition. Maserati's core assets are the combustion-engine roar and Italian design, and transforming it into a new energy brand would completely dilute its rarity;

Second, shortcomings in intelligent technology cannot be made up through acquisitions. Changan and Dongfeng's own intelligent capabilities are still inferior to those of Huawei and XPeng, and after acquisition they would still need to rely on external technology empowerment;

Third, the cost of rebuilding channels and after-sales networks is high. By comparison, the JAC-Huawei model is more pragmatic—not acquiring the brand, but pursuing technology cooperation and capacity sharing, preserving Maserati's Italian heritage while injecting Chinese intelligent electric technology.

Final thoughts

Maserati's future will not be smooth. If it insists on independent transformation, tens of billions in R&D investment and a 3-5 year technology iteration cycle are an unbearable burden; if it cooperates deeply with Chinese automakers, it will need to strike a difficult balance between "preserving combustion-engine nostalgia" and "embracing intelligent electric vehicles." It is expected that after the three-party cooperative model lands at the end of 2027, Maserati's annual sales are expected to recover to the 20,000-vehicle level, but returning to its 2017 peak is already impossible. The future of global luxury cars belongs to new species that can both preserve mechanical nostalgia and provide intelligent experience, and the initiative in this transformation has quietly shifted from the Apennine Peninsula to Chinese automakers.