By Giulio Piovaccari

MILAN Italian carmaker Maserati will never start or get involved in a price war with competitors, the CEO of the luxury subsidiary of Stellantis said on Friday.

"We would be completely strategically off-balance if we did that," Davide Grasso told a press briefing, discussing the brand's first half results that were published earlier this week as part of those of Stellantis.

As supply chain tensions ease, especially around semiconductors which has hugely impacted global car output, analysts fear automakers might rush to reduce prices to protect market share, with U.S. electric car maker Tesla which has kicked a round of cuts in several markets.

"Pricing is a very critical element in general, but particularly for a luxury brand. That's why it's important that we're not led by volumes," Grasso said.

"Our goal is to make the best cars we can make for somebody to appreciate it and pay the price".

He added Maserati, which shipped 15,300 vehicles in the fist half supported by the Grecale SUV and the Gran Turismo, was increasingly scrutinizing its dealers to ensure they were maintaining discipline on prices.

"We don't want to send the wrong message to customers," he said.

The cars are aimed at an affluent customer base. In Italy, the Grecale starts from a price of 81,000 euros ($89,375) including sales tax, while the top of the range MC20 Cielo sportscar is priced from 268,000 euros.

Modena-based Maserati, an autonomous unit within Stellantis, posted a 121 million euro adjusted operating profit in the fist half, almost doubled compared to the same period of 2022.

The margin on adjusted operating profit rose to 9.2% from 6.6%.

Stellantis CFO Natalie Knight said earlier this week Maserati was on track to deliver a "sustainable" 15% margin next year. In the longer term the carmaker aims for a 20% margin.

"For the last 16 quarters, we always had progress, even during the pandemic," Grasso said.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares also ruled out any IPO or spin-off plan for the brand.

"It's something that is not on the horizon for us, we're busy enough with managing the brand and the complexity of the business in these days" Grasso said on Friday.

($1 = 0.9063 euros)

(Reporting by Giulio Piovaccari; Editing by Keith Weir)