Maserati speeds up EV shift, will be all-electric by 2030

TURIN – Maserati will sell only full-electric cars from 2030 and will launch its last two new models with internal combustion engine variants in 2023.

CEO Davide Grasso said the Stellantis luxury brand will electrify faster than it had originally planned because of changing consumer tastes.

“We are seeing a strong acceleration in demand coming from our customers,” Grasso told reporters on Thursday. “I believe any demand for internal combustion engines after 2030 will be residual,” he added.

He said the pace of demand is different in the various region, but that it is a global trend.

Maserati will launch the new generations of the Levante large SUV and of the Quattroporte large sedan as full-electric cars only by 2025. They will offer Level 3 autonomous driving capability.

The brand will give its battery-electric models the Folgore badge (Italian for lightning).

Maserati’s chief commercial officer, Bernard Loire, said the brand will launch Folgore variants of the new GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible next year, along with the full-electric variant of the Grecale midsize SUV, whose internal combustion engine variant will be unveiled next week.

The GranTurismo and GranCabrio will also have combustion engine variants.

The brand announced some figures for the GranTurismo Folgore, including a maximum output of over 1,200 hp. It said all its Folgore models will come with all-wheel-drive as standard to better manage this level of power. Rear-drive only versions are not planned, but are not ruled out.

Maserati will also launch this year a roadster derivative of its MC20 coupe that went on sale last summer  with a new, specific 3.0-liter V-6 engine called Nettuno. Delivering 630 hp and with a starting price of 216,000 euros in Italy, the MC20 is Stellantis' most powerful and most expensive model.

Maserati said it delivered 200 units of the MC20 coupe last year and that 2022 production is entirely sold out.

By 2025, Maserati will also add a Folgore variant to the MC20. The brand did not say if the battery powered variant will be offered as the coupe or roadster or both.

The Ghibli midsize sedan will not be replaced because luxury customers are shifting towards SUVs, the brand said.

Bentley, one of Maserati’s only direct rivals, has already said it will build only battery-electric cars by 2030.

Porsche expects at least 80 percent of its vehicles sold globally to be partially or fully electric by 2030, but doesn’t expect a battery powered version of its iconic 911 sports car anytime soon. The company’s CEO Oliver Blume said the 911 will be the “last Porsche which is going for full electrification.”

Aston Martin, Ferrari and Lamborghini so far announced only the roll out of their first electric model, but did not state yet if and when they will stop producing internal combustion engine models.

Maserati parent Stellantis plans to have all its premium and luxury brands -- Alfa Romeo, DS Automobile and Lancia and Maserati – selling only battery-electric cars by 2030.

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said on March 1 when announcing a new strategic plan that Maserati should aim to have a 15 percent to 20 percent operating margin by the end of the decade.

Last year, Maserati’s adjusted operating income margin was 5.1 percent, after global deliveries increased 41 percent to 24,269 vehicles worldwide. Net revenues were 2 billion euros.