Maserati SUV Officially Announced For 2021
Pre-production will begin before the end of this year.
by Anthony AlanizThe roadmap to Maserati’s future has always been fluid. In 2018, the automaker set out to replace aging models with new ones while bolstering its lineup. But a year later, Maserati threw that out the window for a plan that saw refreshes instead of redesigns – at least right away. It was also our first hint the Italian automaker would introduce a new SUV for 2021, a year earlier than previously expected. Today, buried in Maserati’s announcement of a new electrified range, is news that the first pre-production models of its new SUV will roll off the assembly line by the end of the year, which solidifies 2021 as when we’ll see the new Maserati arrive.
Details about the new SUV are still scarce though we do know the automaker will invest 800 million euros into the construction of the new production line. Construction on the new assembly line is scheduled to begin by the end of the first quarter of the year. We could see a concept or the production version of the SUV soon if Maserati is planning to have the first pre-production models rolling off the assembly line by the end of the year.
And soon could be May. Late last year, Maserati teased that something could happen in May 2020. At the time, we hoped it’d be the long-awaited Alfieri sports car. However, it could be any new Maserati product – or products – the automaker is preparing to reveal. Though the May event could be something more significant, too, where “past and future will meet to place Maserati firmly on the world stage for the future of mobility.”
The new Maserati SUV will slot below the Levante in the automaker’s lineup when it does arrive. Moving the SUV up a year was a smart move by Maserati as consumers continue to love crossovers and SUVs over sedans and sports cars. Maserati has felt a bit lost over the last couple of years, but it sounds like the automaker has big plans going forward, which we should see later this year.
Source: Maserati
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Maserati announces its plans for the development and production of the new electrified range
Modena, 14 February 2020 – All new Maserati models will be 100% developed, engineered and built in Italy, and will adopt hybrid and battery electric propulsion systems delivering all the innovation and outstanding performance typical of the Brand's DNA.
Following on from the announcement of testing of the new full electric powerplants to be installed on future Maserati models, the development and production plans for the Trident Brand's electrified range are now presented.
Maserati’s electrification programme starts this year, and the first hybrid car to be built will be the new Maserati Ghibli.
Production of the new Maserati GranTurismo and GranCabrio, the Brand's first cars to adopt 100% electric solutions, will commence in 2021.
Maserati has decided to build the GranTurismo and GranCabrio at the Mirafiori production hub, with an investment of 800 million Euros. The latest generation of the GranTurismo and GranCabrio, two iconic cars for the Trident Brand, have totalled more than 40,000 units sold from 2007 to 2019.
During 2020, Mirafiori will be strengthening its position as a world hub dedicated to the electrification and mobility of the future, with a large proportion of its capacity allocated to the production of the Brand's new electrified cars.
However, Maserati's heart is still in Modena, where it has its Headquarters, where the cars in its range are developed and tested, and where the new super sports car is to be built. For Maserati, Modena is the place where extraordinary cars have been produced for over 80 years, all outstanding in their luxury, elegance, style, performance and quality, and which are sold in over 70 markets.
In 2020, the first of the new Modena-built Maserati models will be the super sports car, brimming with technology and evoking the Brand's traditional values. Major modernisation work is in progress on the production line at the Modena plant, partly to accommodate the electric version of the new super sports car. At the same time, work has already started on a paint shop, a completely new addition to the facility.
Modena is also the home of the Innovation Lab, the heart of the Brand's technological research, development and design. It is at this facility of excellence that all the Maserati models of today and tomorrow are designed. Here, digital processes support the product's development, applying the exclusive Maserati formula which adopts an integrated approach to prioritise the human factor right from the initial phases: customer-focus is incorporated in the world of virtual simulation with an exclusive hardware-software mix. The digital processes supporting product development take place in three major areas: the Static Simulator, the new latest generation Dynamic Simulator featuring DiM (Driver-in-Motion) technology and the “User eXperience” development labs.
Also upcoming is a new Maserati utility vehicle, to be built at Cassino and intended to play a leading role for the Brand, thanks to its innovative technologies. About 800 million Euros will be invested in construction of the new production line, scheduled to begin at the end of the first quarter of 2020. The first pre-production cars are expected to come off the line by 2021.
As one of the Brand's recent claims puts it, “the music is changing”, and this will be even more apparent in May this year, when past and future will meet to place Maserati firmly on the world stage for the future of mobility.