Maserati POLITICAL

Domain: Political & Conflict-Exposure Audit - Israel-Palestine

Corporate Communications & Public Stance

No public evidence identified of any Maserati-branded corporate statement, press release, or executive commentary specifically addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict, the events of 7 October 2023, or the subsequent Gaza military campaign, across Maserati’s corporate newsroom, Stellantis Media’s corporate press archive, or general news search ^{1, 2, 3}. Parent company Stellantis has likewise issued no identified public statement, policy response, or operational adjustment specifically addressing the Israel-Palestine conflict or the Gaza war through the current search date ⁴. By contrast, Stellantis issued an explicit, dated public statement on the Russia-Ukraine war, stating it “condemns violence and supports all actions capable of restoring peace” alongside its 19 April 2022 announcement suspending manufacturing operations at its Kaluga, Russia plant “to ensure full compliance with all cross sanctions and to protect its employees” ⁵. No equivalent statement, operational suspension, or condemnation of violence tied to Israel-Palestine has been identified, indicating an asymmetric public-communications posture between the two conflicts. Stellantis frames its Israel-related activity exclusively in standard commercial and innovation-partnership terms - “smart mobility,” “e-mobility,” “cybersecurity,” and “Industry 4.0” collaboration with the Israel Innovation Authority - with no language distinguishing Israel operations as a unique geopolitical partnership relative to other national innovation-authority arrangements ^{1, 2}. The Leave Russia corporate tracker independently records Stellantis under a “pause operations” status - all car exports to and imports from Russia suspended from March 2022, the Kaluga plant shut since April 2022, and control of its Russian entities lost by the end of 2023 with a €144 million loss recognised ⁶. In a further Ukraine-related gesture in April 2022, the Formula E team for which Maserati is title partner (now Maserati MSG Racing, then racing as ROKiT Venturi Racing) ran a dove-and-olive-branch livery in Ukrainian flag colours with the hashtag #StandWithUkraine around the Rome E-Prix, while the team’s principal partner, the Stoli® Group, committed a donation to World Central Kitchen for meals for Ukrainian refugees; the livery and the donation were attributed to the team and its principal partner rather than to Maserati S.p.A. ⁷. No public evidence identified of a comparable gesture, livery, or donation by the team, Maserati, or Stellantis concerning civilian harm in Gaza.

Operations in Occupied or Contested Territories

Maserati’s Israeli-market retail presence operates entirely through an independent, third-party national importer, Samelet Motors Ltd., controlled by the Levy family, which holds Stellantis franchises for Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Maserati, Jeep, Ram, Dodge, and Chrysler in Israel; Samelet was founded in 1946 and acquired Maserati/Ferrari distribution rights in 2014, with full Auto-Italia ownership transferred in 2019 ^{8, 9, 10}. Samelet is headquartered in Petah Tikva, within pre-1967 Israel, employs approximately 350 people country-wide, and has historically represented around 20% of the car brands sold in Israel - 15 brands as of 2023 after the addition of several Chinese marques; its branch network includes a Tel Aviv showroom inaugurated in 1965 and a Jerusalem showroom and garage opened in 1971, and alongside Maserati and Ferrari it distributes Fiat, Alfa Romeo, Jeep, Chrysler, Dodge, Ram Trucks, Subaru, and Iveco ¹⁰. The Levi family group that owns Samelet is of Italian descent; its founder Ennio Levi, who emigrated from Italy to Israel, is described on Samelet’s own corporate history as an Italian textile factory owner and Zionist, and in 1969 founded Nilit Ltd., a nylon 6.6 fibre manufacturer subsequently based at Migdal HaEmek - a municipality inside pre-1967 Israel, not a settlement ^{11, 12}; the Levi group acquired Samelet in 1989 ¹¹. Regarding the UN OHCHR database, the September 2025 update added 68 companies for a revised total of 158, with listed entities concentrated in construction, real estate, mining, and quarrying alongside named travel and accommodation platforms; no automotive manufacturer, importer, or distributor is named in reporting on the update, and more than 300 further firms remain under review ¹³. A review of the Palestinian BDS National Committee priority-target list as published by the US Campaign for Palestinian Rights - Chevron, Intel, Dell, HP, Carrefour, AXA, Disney+, Xbox, RE/MAX, SodaStream, Reebok, and Teva - returned no Maserati or Stellantis entry in any of its boycott tiers ¹⁴. The identified Maserati dealership location is in Herzliya, within Israel’s pre-1967 boundaries; no Maserati or Samelet retail location, service center, or franchise presence in the West Bank, East Jerusalem, Golan Heights, or Gaza has been identified ^{8, 15}. Regarding the UN OHCHR Database of Business Enterprises under Human Rights Council Resolutions 31/36 and 53/25 (most recently updated September 2025 to cover 158 enterprises from 11 countries), No public evidence identified naming Maserati, Stellantis, FCA, PSA/Peugeot, or Samelet in the listing, based on secondary reporting of the database’s scope ^{16, 17, 18}; direct access to the primary database document could not be confirmed, so this finding rests on secondary sourcing rather than direct review of the underlying list ^{16, 18}. No public evidence identified of Maserati or Samelet appearing in Who Profits, AFSC Investigate, SOMO, Al-Haq, or BDS Movement company-specific settlement-business listings. No public evidence identified of an organized boycott, divestment, or sanctions campaign specifically targeting Maserati or Stellantis tied to Israeli military procurement or settlement activity.

Internal Governance, Content & Retail Policies

No public evidence identified of HR action, disciplinary measure, or lawsuit specifically involving Maserati or Stellantis employee speech, political symbols, or union activity tied to the Israel-Palestine conflict. As adjacent labor context, in October 2023, 6,800 Stellantis Ram Truck workers in Sterling Heights, Michigan joined the UAW “Stand Up” strike over wage and compensation issues unrelated to Israel-Palestine; the same reporting noted that the Writers Guild of America East - a separate, non-Stellantis-affiliated union - declined to take an institutional position on Israel’s Gaza campaign, a third-party union posture rather than a Stellantis or Maserati corporate action ⁴. No public evidence identified of a consumer content, platform, or algorithmic-moderation function at Maserati, as the brand is an automotive manufacturer without such operations. No public evidence identified of regulatory action or public reporting regarding labeling, sourcing, or categorization of Maserati products originating from Israel or Israeli settlements. A documented negative check against the OECD Watch complaints database identified two OECD National Contact Point complaints involving the group - Italian civil-society organisations against Stellantis Italy, rejected by the Italian NCP on 11 April 2022 on jurisdictional grounds because parent Stellantis N.V. is headquartered in the Netherlands, and a parallel filing by 21 Italian NGOs and a newspaper against Stellantis N.V. and FCA Italy - both concerning non-disclosure of cobalt and other mineral supply-chain information sourced from the Democratic Republic of Congo, with no Israel, Palestine, or occupied-territory nexus in either ^{19, 20}.

Brand Heritage & State Partnerships

Maserati’s brand heritage centers on Italian motorsport, founded in Bologna in 1914, with its trident logo drawn from Bologna’s Neptune fountain in 1926; 1930s coachwork by Carrozzeria Touring is described as influenced by contemporary aviation and aerodynamic aesthetics, but no primary sourcing frames the brand’s founding mission around a military or state-security origin ^{3, 21}. The Italian government purchased 19 armored Maserati Quattroporte sedans (2024 models) for official and diplomatic state use at a reported cost of approximately €3.8 million, representing a state procurement of Maserati’s commercial product line for VIP and diplomatic protection rather than a defense-industrial contract ²². Maserati participates in a standard tax-free/tax-paid vehicle sales program available to military personnel and diplomatic corps, a common luxury-auto retail channel rather than evidence of a bespoke Israel-linked military relationship ²³. Stellantis, via subsidiary FCA Italy S.p.A., signed a formal Memorandum of Understanding with the Israel Innovation Authority on 7 April 2021 covering driving-assistance systems, cybersecurity, Industry 4.0, and e-mobility cooperation with Israeli startups, under the Authority’s “Collaborative Framework with Multinational Corporations Program”; Maserati is named only as one of Stellantis’s constituent brands in this release, with no brand-specific role ^{1, 2, 24}. Stellantis publicly recognized Israeli company Vayyar (4D imaging radar, in-cabin monitoring) in its December 2023 Venture Awards, indicating the relationship continued at least through December 2023 ^{25, 26}. Earlier, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, Iveco, and Magneti Marelli signed a non-binding MoU with Israel’s Fuel Choices Initiative, under Israel’s Prime Minister’s Office, on 9 February 2015 for natural-gas vehicle technology cooperation, again naming Maserati only in FCA’s generic brand-list description with no Maserati-specific role, and no subsequent renewal or termination reporting has been located ²⁷. Vayyar Imaging has separately collaborated with Israel’s Ministry of Defense on COVID-era remote vital-signs monitoring, and one of its founders has an IDF background in large-scale radar and communications projects; this defense-adjacency applies to Vayyar as a company, and no evidence was found that the Stellantis automotive-radar collaboration itself extends to military applications ^{25, 26}. The 2021 IIA memorandum was signed by Dr Ami Applebaum, Chairperson of the Israel Innovation Authority, and Roberto Di Stefano of Stellantis e-Mobility; at signing Stellantis reported having scouted more than 30 Israeli startups over the preceding year, and the Authority’s multinational framework was already subscribed by Intel, Audi, Renault, Panasonic, IBM, Hewlett Packard, Philips, Unilever, Abbott, Fujitsu, Nielsen, and Adler Pelzer, indicating a non-exclusive and broadly subscribed state cooperation programme rather than a bilateral arrangement ¹. A documented commercial outcome adjacent to the earlier 2015 Fuel Choices cooperation was the first natural-gas vehicle commercialised in the Israeli market - an Iveco Stralis 4x2 CNG heavy truck, Iveco then being a CNH Industrial brand - together with FCA’s display of a methane-powered Fiat 500L at Israel’s pavilion during its National Day at Expo Milano 2015 ²⁸. Separately, on 16 August 2017 FCA signed a memorandum of understanding to join BMW Group, Intel, and Israeli-founded Mobileye in developing a Level 3 to Level 4/5 automated driving platform targeted for 2021 deployment, contributing engineering and technical resources, sales volumes, and North American reach; No public evidence identified of any Maserati production-level integration of Mobileye or Mobileye-derived technology ²⁹.

Lobbying, Advocacy, Financing & Logistics

No public evidence identified of Maserati- or Stellantis-specific corporate lobbying, PAC donations, or advocacy-organization leadership roles tied to Israel-Palestine policy, boycott legislation, or anti-BDS trade legislation, based on review of OpenSecrets pro-Israel PAC and lobbying aggregate pages, which returned no Stellantis or Maserati entries ^{30, 31}. No public evidence identified of financial contributions, donations, or sponsorships from Maserati or Stellantis to FIDF, JNF/KKL, Lev Echad, Israeli reservist funds, settlement organizations, Regavim, Im Tirtzu, or other military-welfare or settlement-linked bodies. Stellantis operates a general employee charitable-matching and philanthropic-giving program, per a third-party aggregator and Stellantis’s own sustainability materials, but no eligible-organization list, exclusions, or Israel-specific policy history could be verified from primary Stellantis documentation ^{32, 33}. No public evidence identified of crisis-related resource mobilization - logistics, free services, or infrastructure support - directed by Maserati or Stellantis to Israeli state, military, or state-aligned NGO efforts during the current conflict period. Stellantis’s EU Transparency Register datacard records declared lobbying interests confined to energy, CO2, transport, emissions, alternative fuels, trade, industry, competition, consumer, internal-market, and taxation policy - including the battery directive, emissions trading, CO2 standards, and intelligent transport systems - with no declared activity on Middle East policy, Israel-Palestine, or anti-BDS legislation; declared EU lobbying expenditure was €700,000–€799,999 for calendar 2024, up from €400,000 in each of 2022 and 2023, across ten declared lobbyists (3.5 full-time equivalents), five of them European Parliament-accredited: Christian Kiel-Demartial, Jose Manuel Garcia Garcia, Anna Bartnik, Jason Barth, and Christoph Hinrichsen ³⁴. On the US side, OpenSecrets federal disclosure records for Stellantis N.V. show $2,440,000 in lobbying and $269,585 in contributions for the 2024 cycle but no reported outside spending in that cycle ³⁵.

Corporate Structure & Primary Mission

Maserati is a wholly-owned brand of Stellantis N.V., a Netherlands-incorporated entity formed in 2021 from the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group; no golden-share arrangement specific to Maserati was identified ³⁶. Stellantis’s largest disclosed shareholders are Exor N.V. (the Agnelli family holding company, roughly 14%), the Peugeot family, and Bpifrance, the French state-backed investment arm holding roughly 6%, making the French state a material Stellantis shareholder ³⁷. The Italian government does not currently hold a direct equity stake in Stellantis, though Italian officials have publicly discussed the possibility, and Stellantis Chair John Elkann has stated the company does not need to add the Italian state as a shareholder ³⁸. No evidence identified that Maserati’s or Stellantis’s corporate charter or founding documents tie its primary mission to advancing state geopolitical goals; the company is structured as a standard multinational commercial automotive enterprise, materially state-adjacent only through the French government’s minority shareholding via Bpifrance ^{37, 38}. Stellantis maintains a general corporate human-rights due-diligence policy statement covering its global operations ³⁹, and Israel-related shareholder proposals on human rights in conflict-affected areas have been a recurring feature of broader corporate shareholder-activism trends tracked industry-wide, without a Stellantis- or Maserati-specific proposal identified in the available source ⁴⁰.

Executive & Leadership Footprint

Maserati’s current CEO, Santo Ficili - who concurrently serves as Alfa Romeo CEO - was appointed to lead Maserati effective July 2026; No public evidence identified linking Ficili to Israel-related statements, donations, board affiliations, or advocacy activity. No public evidence identified of personal donations, family-foundation grants, or fundraising by Stellantis Chair John Elkann, or by the Agnelli/Elkann family via Exor or Fondazione Agnelli, to FIDF, JNF, or other Israel-linked advocacy, parastatal, or military-welfare organizations. No public evidence identified of public statements, op-eds, or social media activity by former Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares, who resigned in December 2024, regarding Israel-Palestine. No public evidence identified of board memberships or advisory roles held by Maserati or Stellantis executives in CFI, AIPAC, ADL, USISTF, or comparable pro-Israel or anti-BDS advocacy organizations. John Elkann, an Italian citizen, is CEO of Exor N.V. - the Agnelli family holding company and Stellantis’s largest shareholder - and concurrently chairman of Stellantis, executive chairman of Ferrari, and chairman of the Giovanni Agnelli Foundation ⁴¹. An Israeli technology-media profile (Calcalist, 9 October 2024) characterises him as rumoured to donate to Israel, an explicitly unconfirmed formulation, and no documented personal donation by Elkann to FIDF, JNF, AIPAC, or settlement organisations has been identified in public records ⁴². Exor N.V. maintains an Israeli registered entity, Exor Investments (Israel) Ltd, listed in the Dun & Bradstreet business directory at Ra’anana, Central District, and classified under other investment pools and funds and securities and commodity contracts intermediation; its operational scope, holdings, and current status are not publicly disclosed beyond that classification, and no connection to Israeli defence, surveillance, or settlement-linked activity has been established or excluded from open sources ⁴³. Exor also participated as an investor in the $70 million Series C round of Chain Reaction, an Israeli semiconductor company designing chips for computation on encrypted data, in a round led by Morgan Creek Digital alongside Hanaco Ventures and Jerusalem Venture Partners; No public evidence identified of any automotive, defence, or settlement-related application of Chain Reaction’s technology ⁴⁴. Alain Elkann, John Elkann’s father, is an Italian novelist and journalist who holds no identified executive, board, or operational role at Maserati, Stellantis, Exor, or Ferrari ⁴⁵; in June 2010 he published an appeal in Turin’s La Stampa and on the French site laregledujeu.org urging Jews worldwide to become Israeli citizens, framing the step as necessary “to discourage the detractors and enemies of the Jews” ⁴⁶. Antonio Filosa, an Italian executive born in Naples and previously Jeep’s global CEO, became Stellantis CEO on 23 June 2025, succeeding Carlos Tavares; No public evidence identified of statements by Filosa on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and his personal affiliations and philanthropic activity are not extensively documented in open sources ⁴⁷.