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Marchionne: Maserati to ‘switch all of its portfolio to electrification’  

After 2019, all Maseratis will be electrified, according to FCA CEO Sergio Marchionne. It's part of a larger electrification strategy from FCA as a whole, which intends to have half of its fleet electrified by the end of its five-year plan through 2022, Marchionne said. On an earnings call last week, he said: I'll give you a couple of broad sort of indications of where we are today in terms of the delineation of the post 2018 FCA. The first one and I've mentioned this in passing and other occasions about the fact that there's nothing that will prevent an OEM from engaging in the type of development work that Tesla has done so far. We have been – as you well know, we have been reluctant to embrace that avenue until we saw a clear – a path forward. I think we're now in a position to acknowledge at least one of our brands and in particular Maserati will, when it completes the development of its next two models effectively switch all of its portfolio to electrification. It's especially significant because of FCA's feet-dragging when it comes to offering hybrid and electric vehicles. As it currently stands, Fiat offers the 500e ­– of which Sergio Marchionne has said "I hope you don't buy it" because the company loses money on them — and Chrysler offers the Pacifica Hybrid minivan, which experienced significant launch delays. While diesel is an important part of the emissions strategy for 2020 standards in Europe, Marchionne said he thinks the current situation leaves diesel in a "weaker state" as a solution. Hence the electrification push. He said, "I think what has really made the issue absolutely mandatory now is the fate of diesel and the fact that it's actually the inclusion of, especially in Europe, of some type of electrification on gas engines is inevitable." In the short term, at least, it will put pressure on prices. Though Marchionne said he's "encouraged" by the direction of battery costs, he said, "I still think that there's going to be a huge increase in prices in 2021, 2022. If effectively the electrification becomes as widespread as people expect, there has to be a shift in pricing." He also says that FCA has no intention of making its own batteries. "Given the level of knowledge and depth of that knowledge that sits with other people in the industry, what right do I have to enter that space? None." We already know what the first two plug-in vehicles from Maserati will likely be. The company plans to launch an all-electric Alfieri in 2020.

Maserati ramping up production of Ghibli, Quattroporte

While Porsche may be relatively new to the four-door game, Maserati has been building the Quattroporte with few interruptions since 1963. But like its rival from Stuttgart, the Trident marque is rapidly shifting from a sports car company primarily to a manufacturer of high-end family transportation. Not only does it have the new Quattroporte on the market, but now it's got the Ghibli sedan as well and the Levante crossover on its way.
It's a gambit that's reaping huge benefits not only for Maserati itself but also for its newly merged parent company Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, which is finding the mass market less lucrative than it once was and is positioning both Maserati and Alfa Romeo against other luxury marques like BMW, Audi and Porsche. As a result, Maserati is considerably expanding its production.
Last month, Maserati sold over 3,000 cars, putting it on track to double its sales from 2013. But it's not about to stop there. With growing demand for its authentically Italian luxury sedans, Maserati is shifting more workers to its assembly plant in the Turinese suburn of Grugliasco (where the QP and Ghibli are made) and shortening vacation time to ramp production up from 750 cars per week to 900.

Maserati's small two-seater could arrive by 2016

As a following act to the redesigned Quattroporte and the recently unveiled 2014 Maserati Ghibli, Maserati will be releasing a slew of new products in the coming years, including the next-generation GranTurismo, the all-new Levante SUV and a new 911-fighting coupe - possibly called Gran Sport. While all of this information was detailed last year in a leaked product plan document, there were no dates associated with any of the new products. Auto Express is now reporting that the new GranTurismo will be out in 2015 and the new smaller coupe is expected out in 2016.
According to the report, the new coupe will be smaller and sportier than the GranTurismo, and it will feature a mid-engine layout with a platform that isn't shared with the Alfa Romeo 4C. This product onslaught is a part of Maserati's plan to increase sales to 50,000 units globally by 2015.