Luca Cordero di Montezemolo, chairman of iconic Italian automaker Ferrari, will leave his job on October 13, the day that the combination of Fiat and Chrysler is expected to begin trading as Fiat Chrysler Automotive on the New York Stock Exchange. Montezemolo has been Ferrari’s chairman for nearly 23 years.

Fiat owns 90% of Ferrari, and Fiat’s chairman and CEO, Sergio Marchionne, has wanted the smaller company to expand its offerings and lead Fiat and, soon, Fiat Chrysler, to a larger role in the lucrative premium car market.

Ferrari sold 7,318 cars in 2012 and 6,922 cars last year, and revenues rose 5% in 2013 despite the lower sales. The company attributed the boost to its customization program, which added something to every car that Ferrari sold in 2013. Adding high-dollar custom treatment to an already expensive car led Montezemolo to say, “We wanted to maintain a high level of exclusivity…” It was that very success that put him at cross-purposes with Marchionne.

The Fiat chief sees the market for premium cars widening with Maserati and others now producing cars that are expensive, but not quite the nose-bleed-level expensive that typify Ferrari. The company’s 2014 California rings in at just under $200,000 for the base model, while the 458 Italia carries a base price of more than $250,000. The Ferrari FF lists for $295,000 and the F12berlinetta coupe has an MSRP of nearly $320,000. That is before customization.

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By contrast, a Maserati Ghibli sedan has a base MSRP of $66,900 and the Gran Turismo coupe carries a base price of about $153,000.

Marchionne is happy to see the premium market expand at the lower end and he wants to make sure that Ferrari is positioned to take advantage of that expansion. Low-end expansion is the strategy that both BMW and Mercedes-Benz have adopted with cars priced at around $40,000. It is a riff on the old General Motors strategy: buy a Chevy when you’re young and striving, then move up to a Cadillac as you get older and richer.

Marchionne plans to increase production gradually to 10,000 units. Montezemolo wanted to maintain production at around 7,000 to underscore Ferrari’s exclusivity. He had a point: according to British brand research firm Brand Finance, Ferrari has been the world’s most powerful brand for the second year running.

Widening the base of the premium market pushes those already there into what might be termed a super-premium mindset. Marchionne is gambling that the buyers currently at the top of the premium market will be willing to pay even more to maintain exclusivity. It is riskier than Montezemolo’s plan, but the rewards if it works are likely to be greater too.

The final straw was Ferrari’s failure this year to place a driver in the top three at any Italian Grand Prix race for the first time since 2008. The company has not won the carmaker’s prize since 2008 either. Ferrari spends a lot of money on its racing team, and the success of its racers is the foundation of the company’s mystique and its brand power. Once Marchionne takes the reins at Ferrari, there could be some changes here too.

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