Maserati halts development of electric sedan

But first to the Quattroporte Folgore: As a spokesperson for the Stellantis brand explained to Automotive News, this step was taken due to “the need to avoid any risk with regard to the performance of the new car”. The newspaper “Corriere della Sera” had initially reported on Maserati’s internal decision. However, this decision was probably only made recently: As recently as December, brand boss Davide Grasso had announced in an interview that the successor to the Quattroporte would be fully electric and would be unveiled in early 2025.

According to the Italian media, however, the entire business model for the electric saloon is now in question. Maserati has asked suppliers to reduce their prices by six per cent, after the brand had already demanded a similar reduction in 2023. However, a response from the suppliers is not yet known.

The reports also do not mention which platform the all-electric Quattroporte successor will be based on. The current combustion engine generation has been on the market since 2013 and is currently only offered with one drive variant. For large models in the electric vehicle segment, Stellantis is actually introducing the STLA Large, which is intended for vehicles up to 5.13 meters in length. However, the current Quattroporte is 5.26 meters long. And if Maserati were to adopt a Group platform, it would probably not have to negotiate with suppliers itself.

According to Automotive News, there have also been delays to Maserati’s battery-electric follow-on versions of the GranTurismo and Grecale. Their market launch, planned for 2023, has been postponed to this year. According to the spokesperson, the first deliveries of the electric GranTursimo are now on their way, while the first units of the electric SUV Grecale are due to be delivered to customers in the second quarter of 2024. Maserati is set to become an all-electric brand by 2030, with an electric version of every model to be available by 2025. At least the latter target is shaky with the current information on the Quattroporte successor.

Meanwhile, Stellantis will be putting around 2,250 employees at its plant in Mirafiori near Turin on short-time work from February 12 to March 3 due to weak demand. According to a company spokesperson, this affects 1,250 workers who produce the electric Fiat 500 and a further 1,000 who manufacture Maserati models (mostly still with petrol engines).

autonews.com (Quattroporte), reuters.com (Mirafiori)