Morgan wants to attract a younger customer base to secure its future. Photo: John Lawrence
You don't have to be a car enthusiast to care about the fate of Morgan Motor Company, a quintessentially English automaker based in Malvern, Worcestershire, since 1909.
Morgan, famous for its sports cars racing down the countryside to roads, to cars, what John Lobb St. James is to shoes, and Henry Poole is to tailor-made suits, a hallmark of British excellence and craftsmanship for generations.
It has been four years since then how Morgan was bought by private equity firm InvestIndustrial, ending 110 years of Morgan family ownership. Milan native Massimo Fumarola took over the business in April 2022.
The 54-year-old, who speaks English with the amiable Italian accent of a Premier League football club manager, says it's his job to help Morgan reach his full potential and “take this company to the next level.”
Fumarola spent 30 years in the automotive industry, working with brands from Ferrari to Audi, and immediately prior to joining was Head of Project Management at Lamborghini in Malvern.
On the surface, the two companies are very different: Lamborghini makes luxury supercars loved by cryptocurrency traders and celebrities, while Morgan's traditional design usually appeals to boomers who want to enjoy their hard-earned cash. Lamborghini sells over £2bn a year, and Fumarola readily admits that Morgan is one of the smallest automakers in the world.
Fumarola wants to make cars “easier (and) more enjoyable to drive”. Credit: Morgan
However, Fumarola claims to have loved Morgan's cars all his life, which made it hard for him to resist working.
His neighbor had a Morgan as a child and kept him entertained stories about the vehicle and the company behind it. This. The brand is what “I have admired most since I was a boy,” he says. “I think a car says a lot about the culture of the people behind it.”
The soft-spoken executive took charge at a pivotal moment for an industry that must quickly transition to electricity.
Fumarola believes he has a plan to take Morgan global and prepare the 114-year-old business for global changes. net zero future.
“We need to expand our customer base, we need to go international, we need to develop new cars. Here are three things I'm here for,” he says.
His first job is to make Morgan look younger.
Morgan's Super 3 three-wheeler is close to being approved for sale in the US
“We need to reposition the brand because our traditional customer base is aging and we need to reach a new audience of customers. “, he says, adding: “Younger doesn't mean 25, it means 40, 50.”
Under his leadership, the company is investing in digital marketing and hosting more events beyond those already hosted at Morgan's chain of clubs around the world. The business also partnered with brands such as high-end fashion brand Orlebar Brown and suitcase manufacturer Malle London.
Fumarola spent much of the past year reorganizing Morgan's international distribution network, another key priority.
Morgan recently opened his second dealership in Italy, in Bari. The company announced three new dealerships in Germany, including one in Berlin and three more in France.
The company is also on the cusp of obtaining US regulatory approval to export its new Super 3 three-wheeler in America. Dozens of vehicles are packed and waiting to be shipped at Morgan's factory.
“We really have a lot of hope for the US,” says Fumarola, pointing out the high online interest in the new three-wheeler.
“It's promising,” he says, “and then adds, “Of course it's difficult – it's the toughest market in the world, so you have to get it right.”
Morgan Fumarola claims to be of great interest in the South America, and southern Europe.
“Maybe one day we'll have a [dealership] in Rome,” he suggests.
The Italian hopes that the Super 3 will be sold in the Middle East by the end of the year. regulation process last year. The partner, with a network of dealers in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Bahrain, is ready to start selling Morgan three-wheelers once approved.
“It's one of the smallest automakers in the world, but we're pretty global,” says Fumarola.
Morgan's Plus Six is its flagship vehicle. Photo: Christopher Pledger
Of course, Fumarola is also focused on the cars themselves. He plans to update each model and diversify them to appeal to different customers.
“We are left with three models, but we separate them,” he explains.
Improvements are planned for Super 3 , which was only introduced last February, as well as for the flagship Plus Six model, which provides “more comfort, more ergonomics and more features of the GT [Grand Tourer]”.
He also wants to make his 50-year-old the Plus Four mid-range model is more legacy-oriented.
“After 114 years of history, you have to respect the past, because the past is an asset,” he says. “The past and the people are the company's assets.”
The Morgan model update should help convince drivers to buy new rather than used.
“When they ask me who your competitor is, it's Morgan,” Fumarola says. “Our competitor is a used Morgan. We compete with ourselves.”
An even more important task is to launch the brand's first all-electric vehicle. The brand should put this into effect by 2030, when the UK, as well as other countries, including California, the Netherlands and Greece, will impose a ban on the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines.
The company is currently grappling with a dilemma : whether to make an electric version of the new Super 3 or Plus Six. Alternatively, he could introduce an entirely new all-electric model and move the rest later. Discussions are ongoing.
The biggest challenge is “how to turn an all-electric car into something even more Morgan than it was in the past,” Fumarola says.
Growing demand
If the company gets it right, Morgan can save its traditional customer base, as well as attract a broader market.
Morgan has doubled the size of its R&D team and increased its total workforce from 200 to 250 people since the acquisition in 2019.
In the short term, according to Fumarol, there are “opportunities to make these cars lighter.” , more driving fun, more handmade, more analog, more unconventional, at the same time make them more comfortable, more comfortable, more versatile – you can work both ways, and this is what we want to do in the next three years ”.< /p>
If Fumarola wants to realize its ambition to make Morgan a truly global brand, the company must increase production.
Over the past five years, he has produced an average of only about 600 cars a year.
“I think the target should be 1000, considering the US, the Middle East and southern Europe,” it says. “I think the increase in volume will come at the expense of international markets.”
Increasing production is advice given to Morgan by businessman Sir John Harvey-Jones in the 1990s when he visited the then struggling company in during your visit. The BBC series “Troubleshooting”.
Management then ignored the advice, but attributed the TV appearance to increased sales after showing off their traditional production methods.
Fumarola enjoys revisiting the documentary “Troubleshooting” on YouTube, offering a window into the company's roots.
“I'm convinced it's possible to continue making cars like this,” he says. Morgan deals with cars. Most automakers are changing their business model to mobile service providers, to digital companies. Politely, we're Morgan, we make cars. That's it.”
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