Stellantis NV's luxury brand Maserati has made several major leadership changes in recent weeks amid plummeting sales this year.

Last month, Stellantis named Santo Ficili as the new CEO for the upscale Italian brand, replacing Davide Grasso. Ficili, who previously oversaw the overall Italian market for Stellantis, also now leads the automaker's Alfa Romeo brand.

Grasso was moved over to a newly-created position of Stellantis chief heritage officer. This means he is "responsible for the curation of the history and patrimony of the 14 brands of Stellantis," including partnerships with museums and archives, an announcement said.

This week, Stellantis also announced new North American leadership for Maserati. Andrea Soriani will oversee all of the brand's operations in the region, succeeding Kelly MacDonald, who is moving elsewhere in Stellantis.

Soriani previously worked in marketing and other roles for Maserati in both Italy and the United States before most recently working at electric vehicle maker Lucid Motors as well as watchmaker TAG Heuer North America.

Maserati also tapped new marketing and communications leaders recently, including Nicole Longhini, who is the brand's North America marketing head.

Maserati has struggled this year as worldwide sales fell by about 42% to about 11,800 vehicles through the first nine months, compared to 2023. In the third quarter alone, sales were down by about half. The company attributed the third-quarter struggles to lower sales of the Grecale SUV, and lower demand for the brand's upscale products in China. Net revenues fell 61% in the quarter.

In a recent investor call, Stellantis Chief Financial Officer Doug Ostermann also pointed to the retirement of three Maserati vehicles at the end of 2023 as part of the brand's challenge. He said Ficili and other new leadership are "hard at work to return the brand to profitability."

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares told Top Gear in October that the reason for the Maserati leadership change was the brand's recent poor performance. He said the "mindset and ideas" of the brand need to change.

"Maserati is in the red. The reason is marketing," Tavares told the outlet at the Paris auto show. "The Maserati brand is not clearly positioned and the storytelling is not how it should be. The brand is not just about sports cars, it's about gran turismo, it's about quality of life, dolce vita and technology. So we have a problem with the way we go to market. Not with the product. The cars are stunning, including the Folgore (electric) versions."

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