TURIN, Italy -- Roberto Ronchi is replacing Karl-Heinz Kalbfell as head of the Maserati brand, effective immediately, Fiat S.p.A. said today.

Ronchi, 47, who heads fleet and sales network development at Fiat's car unit, Fiat Auto, will retain responsibility for automotive fleet sales, Fiat said in a statement.

Maserati wasn't expecting its CEO to leave. It was setting up interviews with Kalbfell at next week's Paris auto show.

A Fiat spokesman told Automotive News Europe that Kalbfell wasn't fired but decided to leave to pursue other interests.

He said Kalbfell will continue working with Maserati for the next two months to assure a smooth transition.

Kalbfell was not immediately available for a comment.

ENLARGE Roberto Ronchi

Short tenure

Kalbfell, 56, a BMW marketing veteran, has had a short and bumpy tenure with Fiat.

In October 2004, he quit as Rolls Royce CEO -- a position he had been appointed to just four months earlier -- to become head of the Alfa Romeo brand in January 2005.

One month later, Kalbfell added the role of Maserati CEO to his Alfa duties, replacing former Ford of Europe CEO Martin Leach, who left the company.

By September 2005, Kalbfell's role was reduced to Maserati CEO and coordinator of Alfa Romeo and Maserati's future common projects. He was replaced as head of Alfa Romeo by Antonio Baravalle.

In the first half of this year, Maserati's revenues fell 9.1 percent to 269 million euros, or about $342.4 million at current exchange rates, from 296 million euros in the first half of 2005.

The first-half operating loss was halved to 26 million euros, or about $33.1 million, from 53 million euros in the first half of 2005, thanks to cost cutting and a better product mix. Vehicle deliveries increased 3.8 percent to 3,024 units.

Maserati has posted a loss since Fiat bought it in January 1990.

In interviews published by Italian newspapers last week, Kalbfell was quoted as saying that Maserati will turn a profit in 2008, when it plans to sell 8,500 units. This year, sales will be similar to the 5,571 units sold last year, growing to 7,000 units in 2007.

New products

The growth will be fueled by offering an automatic transmission on the Quattroporte sedan. That vehicle is set to debut at the Detroit auto show in January.

At the Geneva auto show in March, Maserati plans to unveil a four-seat coupe. The vehicle is set to go on sale in the second half of the year.

At Maserati, Ronchi is returning to his marketing roots in the auto industry.

After holding marketing positions at consumer goods companies Seagram's and Bayer, Ronchi entered the auto business in 2002 as sales director for Maserati.

In April 2005 he moved to Fiat Auto, taking over first the dealer network development and later fleet sales.

You may e-mail Luca Ciferri at lciferri@craincom.de