Currently reading: Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo steps down

Luca di Montezemolo, chairman of Ferrari since 1991, set to resign on 13 October; due to be replaced by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne

Luca Cordero di Montezemolo will resign from his position as Ferrari chairman, which he has held since 1991, next month.

He will be replaced by Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne.

Luca di Montezemolo said: "Ferrari will have an important role to play within the FCA Group in the upcoming flotation on Wall Street.

"This will open up a new and different phase which I feel should be spearheaded by the CEO of the Group."

Montezemolo added: "This is the end of an era and so I have decided to leave my position as Chairman after almost 23 marvellous and unforgettable years in addition to those spent at Enzo Ferrari’s side in the 1970s."

There are rumours, however, that Montezemolo and Marchionne had clashed over the future of Ferrari's road car division, as well as issues surrounding the Ferrari F1 team's recent performance.

A Ferrari spokesperson said that the changes shouldn't affect the company on a day-to-day basis. The company itself is an integral part of the new FCA Group, as although it only accounts for around 10 per cent of turnover it delivers some 25 per cent of the profits.

The group also stands to benefit from Ferrari's ongoing contribution to Maserati, with which Ferrari shares engineering, development and production facilities.

Montezemolo became chairman of Ferrari in 1991 after working his way through several positions at Fiat. Under the stewardship of Montezemolo the company improved its profits, road cars and motorsport performance.

He will depart from Ferrari on 13 October. Technical director Roberto Fedeli has also left Ferrari recently, in a rumoured move to BMW.

Get the latest car news, reviews and galleries from Autocar direct to your inbox every week. Enter your email address below:

Add a comment…
Afficionado 11 September 2014

911 competitor?

It makes sense what you are saying airamerica....with LDM stepping down and the stock flotation in mind there will be huge pressure on the new Chrysler / Fiat group to produce profits. The Ferrari brand has such a huge desirability worldwide that I`m afraid it will be exploited.
Already now they don`t mind opening Ferrari amusement parks and selling all kinds of merchandise. With traditional sports car sales falling even in Europe and the US the 4WD FF model might just have been the start. The new markets like China, Russia, India, Brazil etc. will soon start to crave for Ferrari SUV`s....and it only takes a short glance at Porches`s success story to tempt Sergio Marchionne and his decision makers. A Ferrari SUV is only a matter of time
david RS 10 September 2014

It smells the SUV at Ferrai

It smells the SUV at Ferrai and why not the Diesel?
ordinary bloke 10 September 2014

I get the impression that ......

.... Montemezolo has not been a great team player as part of the wider group. If ferrari are part of a larger group, they cannot expect to operate as an entirely separate entity with out contributing anything but profits. I imagine that Sergio Marchionne finally got fed up with a lack of co-operation / sharing of technical expertise and maybe the lack of F1 success also contributed. As others have said, Ferrari needs to have a competitor for the 911, having a model range that starts at £150,000 must limit their sales potential, the Ferrari brand is so strong that I'm sure it would not be diluted by making it a bit more accessible. I read somewhere that Montemezolo may be moving to the top job at Alitalia, so perhaps we have not seen the last of him just yet; obviously a talented man in many ways, but there always comes a time to move on.