Carced News
Maserati's Rescue Plan Apparently Runs Through Huawei And JAC
7,900 cars sold last year. That is not a rough patch — that is a brand that needs a lifeboat. The lifeboat may be Chinese tech and manufacturing.
When Volume Collapses, Partnerships Stop Being Optional
Maserati sold about 7,900 vehicles in fiscal 2025, down from 11,300 the year before and the worst stretch since the early 2010s. Against that backdrop, a reported deal with Huawei and JAC is less a curiosity and more a survival strategy.
Two EVs, Two Badges, One Supply Chain
Industry sources cited by EET China say the partnership will produce a mid-to-large electric SUV as an alternative to the Grecale Folgore, plus an all-electric GT to sit with the GranTurismo Folgore. In China the cars would wear Maextro branding; overseas they would be badged as Maseratis. JAC would handle engineering and body-in-white manufacturing at its Maextro plant, then ship shells to Italy for final assembly — a compromise designed to keep Italian finishing in the story.
Huawei Brings The Stack Maserati Does Not Have
Huawei would supply its HIMA platform pieces: Qiankun autonomous driving, EV powertrain tech, and the intelligent cockpit. Maserati’s job, in this telling, is design and selling. That division of labor is blunt: software and skateboard from China, trident and showroom polish from Modena.
Export Targets Tell You Who They Think Will Buy
Reported early markets include the Middle East, Italy, France, and Germany. That is a carefully chosen list of places where a Chinese-built luxury EV with Italian final assembly might clear both politics and brand perception better than a full China-built Maserati story would in the US.
My Take
Purists will hate this. Volume charts do not care. If the cars are genuinely good and the Italian finish is real, buyers who already accepted Folgore electrification may accept the rest. For Carced’s US incentive audience this is mostly a brand-health signal for now — but it is also a preview of how more European names may rent Chinese EV competence instead of reinventing it. Watch whether Stellantis confirms the structure publicly; until then, treat it as a well-sourced rumor with unusually specific product shapes attached.
Would a Huawei-powered Maserati still feel like a Maserati to you, or is that a hard no? I am genuinely split on this one.
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