Full throttle towards electricity

In the world of luxury car brands, Maserati is one of the few manufacturers that is fully committed to electrification. At the end of next year, all Italian models should also be available in a fully electric version. By 2028 – two years earlier than originally planned – the entire portfolio will be purely electric. “We are fully committed to driving the transition to electrification,” says CEO Davide Grasso.

The Stellantis brand is currently sold in more than 70 countries and the export rate is 86 percent. Last year, international sales were 26,600 vehicles, a record in the company’s history. The current best-seller is the SUV Grecale, which was launched two years ago, with nearly 20,000 units. Maserati recently introduced an electric version of the Folgore (Italian for electric). The most powerful (410 kW / 560 hp) and most expensive (124,300 euro) variant of the series is aimed mainly at the new Porsche Macan and will be available at dealers from May.

Visually, the battery-electric Grecale does not differ from models of combustion engines. The developers were able to install a 105 kWh (total) battery pack and two 205 kW electric motors on the existing Giorgio platform. They come from Jing-Jin Electric (JJE) in China, as do the battery cells (CATL). Range is 500 km. Maserati expects that about a third of Grecale customers will choose an electric drive.

The Italians also offer the GranTurismo and GranCabrio sports cars as fully electric cars. There are even three electric motors with a total of 560 kW / 762 hp under the body. The GT can already be ordered, the open version will follow in the summer.

However, the year 2024 also means the end of the existing three series. The Ghibli business sedan and the Quattroporte flagship have already been discontinued. This season the brand’s first SUV, the Levante, will also be hit. At the same time, the brand says goodbye to the eight-cylinder engine, which was in great demand in the USA.

As far as heir models are concerned, the customer should be patient. Maserati is announcing a so-called UV (utility vehicle) in the E segment for 2027. This could be the next Levante. However, it is unclear whether the name will be retained. On the other hand, the new generation of Quattroporte is being installed. First time: 2028. The appearance of the luxury sedan should be completely rethought and have the same effect as the first generation with the Ferrari engine in 2003.

The Ghibli falls by the wayside in the transition to an electric luxury brand. The next Quattroporte should take its role. The Levante and Quattroporte will be fully electric and will use the new 800-volt architecture of the Stellantis STLA-Large platform. It is said to have a range of up to 800 km.

As early as 2025, Maserati will expand its electric offering to include two super sports cars MC20 and MC20 Cielo (Spyder). They come off the production line at the headquarters in Modena with combustion engine variants (Nettuno-V6). This means that they remain true to their ideal of putting the “Made in Italy” stamp on the development and production of all models.