Bill Peffer: This name pops up again and this time he's Maserati N.A. boss

DETROIT: Remember Bill Peffer? The guy who left Kia Motors America after only a week as its chief operating officer.

Well, Peffer has moved on to greener pastures, so to speak.

He has jumped over to Maserati North America where he has been made its CEO with immediate effect.

Maserati said Peffer would report to Maserati’s chief commercial officer Bernard Loire, who's also a recent addition to the Italian company, having joined in January 2020.

Peffer took over from Al Gardner, who left Maserati to join another auto-related company. Peffer will also be responsible for Maserati operations in Canada. Prior to his latest appointment, Peffer had been with Kia Motors America for about three years as its vice president of sales operations.

Maserati operates a total of 129 dealerships in the US and Canada.

Maserati has been struggling with profitability and declining sales over the years.

Loire had previously said that Maserati's focus now "is strongly on the future, including hybrid and electric models."

All Maserati models including the Gran Turismo and Gran Cabrio would be electrified, either hybrid or full-electric, in the next five years.

Maserati’s new SUV Grecale is expected to be released this year, and will initially be offered both in a combustion-engine and a hybrid version, according to another Maserati official. A full-electric version of the Grecale is expected at a later stage.