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Maserati marks centenary with 50,000th unit at Grugliasco

Maserati is celebrating its centenary this year, but if that wasn't enough of a milestone, the Trident marque has reached another, completing its 50,000th unit at its plant in Grugliasco. Whether 50,000 seems like a lot or a little depends largely on your perspective. Toyota, for example, sold over three times that many cars in the United States alone just this past month. But for Maserati and the Grugliasco plant, it's an awful lot. The plant was acquired not long ago from the failed Bertone coachbuilding operation to bolster the principal site in Modena. It just kicked off production barely two years ago in January 2013 and handles assembly of the Quattroporte and Ghibli – Maserati's top sellers, but hardly what you'd call "volume models" by any means. The landmark 50,000th vehicle was a Quattroporte S Q4 in dark grey with a red and black interior, bound for the US market that's reaching new sales records for the ambitious Mondenese automaker.

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.

Alfa Romeo will gain a Jeep Compass-based SUV

It was reported earlier this week that FCA would invest into its Italian factories to ramp up production at currently underutilized locations. Those plans have now been clarified with official information from FCA, as reported by Automotive News. The entire investment is worth $5.7 billion. First of all, Alfa Romeo will gain a new compact SUV based on the Jeep Compass architecture. The still-unnamed model will be available as a plug-in hybrid, and it will be built in Pomigliano, Italy. No U.S. availability has yet been announced, but it would not be odd to see the Compass-based model sold below the Stelvio in the States. The last time Alfa Romeo had anything similar in its model portfolio was when it offered Crosswagon-badged four-wheel-drive versions of the 156 and 159 wagons. As for the Jeep Compass itself, it will begin to be built at the Melfi plant in Italy. The rumored small "baby" Jeep slotting under the Renegade has not yet been officially mentioned. Fiat will introduce a battery electric 500, built in Turin, and the Pomigliano plant that will make the compact Alfa Romeo SUV will also be used to build a mild hybrid version of the Panda city car. The 500X will gain a PHEV variant. The Stelvio platform will also spawn a corresponding SUV for Maserati, and FCA also mentioned Maserati will introduce a new, unnamed model it will make in Modena. Automotive News quotes Italian press as saying this will be the Alfieri coupe and convertible, also offered as battery electric versions. Related Video: