Beirut, 11 January 2015. 2014 ended on a successful note for Maserati across the Middle East, Africa and Asia. The Italian luxury brand has not only rapidly accelerated in terms of sales, new product launches and market visibility in 2014, it has also been honoured with 12 awards across different categories in the Global Overseas Markets region covering Africa, the Middle East and South East Asia & Pacific.
The latest addition to the model range of the Italian luxury brand, the Maserati Ghibli, has banked no less than seven awards from reputable car magazines across the region including “Car of the Year” and “Best Sports Saloon” by Wheels/UAE, “Midsize Luxury Saloon of the Year” by Autocar ASEAN/Malaysia, “Best Performance Luxury Executive Car” by Asian Auto/Malaysia, “Best Luxury Sedan Car 2014” by Sport Auto/KSA, “The Most Beautiful Car of the Year” by Gentlemen Drivers, Morocco and “Luxury Car of the Year” by the New Zealand Herald.
The Maserati GranCabrio was also the star of its category at the Gentlemen Drivers Awards in Morocco as it was awarded the title of ‘The Most Beautiful Car of the Year’.
At the 2014 Geneva Motor Show Maserati had revealed its latest concept car, the 2+2 sports coupe called ‘Alfieri’ after one of the founding brothers of Maserati. Production for the car has in the meantime been confirmed. The Alfieri was promptly named “Concept Car of the Year” by UAE-based car magazine Evo.
South Korea is one of the strongest growing markets for Maserati in Asia with sales having increased by almost seven times compared to the same period in the previous year. The brand’s efforts to localize its marketing initiatives to the specific needs of its South Korean clients have not gone unnoticed. The Maserati Ghibli S Q4 campaign “First AWD Born in the Name of Maserati” for the launch of the first all-wheel drive model by Maserati answered the demand for a four-door luxury sedan that can be enjoyed in all weather conditions. It was awarded with two accolades for Best Marketing and Best Advertising by the prominent South Korean newspapers JoongAng Daily and Korea Economic Daily. The campaign on occasion of Maserati’s 100th anniversary “Art beyond Technology”, was granted another award for Best Advertising by the Maeil Business Newspaper of South Korea.
Umberto Cini, Managing Director of Maserati Global Overseas Markets, commented “We are really proud and honoured that our efforts in developing fantastic new cars and being closer to our customers are being recognized not only by our customers, but also by the industry and media. The last 100 years were a turbulent and exciting ride for Maserati, but we have now opened a new chapter. Maserati will stay an exclusive luxury brand but we have now stepped out of the niche onto the world stage.”
Awards Overview
- Ghibli – ‘Car of the Year’ – Wheels, UAE
- Ghibli – ‘Best Sports Saloon’ – Wheels, UAE
- Ghibli – ‘Midsize Luxury Saloon of the Year’ – Autocar ASEAN, Malaysia
- Ghibli – ‘Best Performance Luxury Executive Car’ – Asian Auto, Malaysia
- Ghibli – ‘Best Luxury Sedan Car 2014’ – Sport Auto, KSA
- Ghibli – ‘The Most Beautiful Car of the Year’ – Gentlemen Drivers, Morocco
- Ghibli – ‘Luxury Car of the Year’ – New Zealand Herald, New Zealand
- GranCabrio – ‘The Most Beautiful Car of the Year’- Gentlemen Drivers, Morocco
- Alfieri – ‘Concept Car of the Year’ – Evo, UAE
- The Best Marketing Award – ‘The First AWD Born in the Name of Maserati’ (Maserati Ghibli S Q4 Campaign) – The 50th JoongAng Advertisement Award 2014, South Korea
- The Best Advertisement Award (Import Car) – ‘The First AWD Born in the Name of Maserati’ (Maserati Ghibli S Q4 Campaign) – The Korea Economic Daily 2014, South Korea
- The Best Advertisement Award (Magazine) – ‘Art beyond Technology’ (Centennial Campaign) – Maeil Business Newspaper 2014, South Korea