TAGS
Maserati Levante 2017
Maserati Levante
Maserati
Maserati News
SUV
Prestige & Luxury Cars
Family Cars
Sports cars
Trending articles
Trending
articles
-->
Kia Stinger GT on the cards for Aus police
Next Mazda3 petrol to have no spark plugs
Mercedes reveals ground-breaking new engines
Best five production cars of Detroit 2017
Australia's fastest police car revealed
RWD 272kW Kia Stinger to arrive in 2017
2018 Commodore torque vectoring explained
2018 Commodore revealed
2017 Land Rover Discovery revealed
2017 Volkswagen Golf revealed
2017 Holden Astra sedan revealed
2017 Audi Q2 SUV price and spec announced
Lexus GSF unlikely for police duty
Mercedes-Benz reveals X-Class ute concepts
NSW Police reveal BMW i8
Infiniti reveals history-making engine
Hyundai RN30 super hatch possible?
Tesla to charge for charging
2017 Toyota C-HR Australian spec announced
2017 Suzuki Swift revealed
Maserati Levante SUV possibly joined by larger model
8 February 2017
by
Robbie Wallis
Car News
·
-->
, GoAutoMedia
The newly released Levante may be joined by other Maserati SUVs in the future.
Maserati Australia has indicated that the exclusive Italian brand may have to expand its stable of SUVs beyond the recently released Levante, to adapt to the shift in preference from passenger cars to SUVs.
According to Maserati Australia chief operating officer Glen Sealey, the company has expressed interest in an upper-large SUV to sit above the Levante in the Maserati range to do battle with the likes of the ultra-luxury Bentley Bentayga.
Speaking at the launch of the Levante, Mr Sealey indicated that Maserati customers would happily pay up to $400,000 for one of its cars, which in SUV form would put it in competition with the Bentayga and, potentially, the upcoming Lamborghini Urus.
"By the time you put a Quattroporte GTS Gran Lusso/Gran Sport on the road, you're edging toward $400,000. People pay that. So we can stretch the brand up to that level," he said.
Mr Sealey said the prospect of bringing in an SUV would be impossible to ignore.
"Can we do that in an SUV? Yeah, absolutely. The possibility is there, as long as the brand can sustain it, (so) if the product is there we'll go 'okay'."
Mr Sealey said an upper-large SUV could compliment the Quattroporte, which Maserati sees as the signature car for the brand. However, market trends would have to indicate the desire for an ultra-luxury four-wheel drive for it to become a possibility.
If in five years' time the desire for a luxury saloon such as the Quattroporte had waned, Mr Sealey said the prospect of bringing in an SUV would be impossible to ignore.
"We must move where consumer demand wants to take us," he said. "Where you invest now to get more return... clearly there is a trend toward SUVs."
When asked if Maserati would need to make a decision on whether to give the green light to an upper-large SUV project given the many years it takes to develop a new car from scratch, Mr Sealey said a decision had not yet been made, pointing out that modern technology such as CAD modelling and photo printing can drastically shorten the development time of a new vehicle.
Speculation was furthered by another Maserati representative who explained that the growth in the SUV sector was most prominent in premium offerings, and that the trend was likely to continue.
Jeep has announced it will release its Range Rover-baiting Grand Wagoneer in 2019, and given Jeep's relationship with Maserati under the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles (FCA) umbrella, it is possible a Maserati large SUV could be built borrowing components from the Jeep offering.
In a report with Automotive News this week, FCA chief executive officer Sergio Marchionne said the Giorgio platform which underpins the Giulia sedan and Stelvio mid-size SUV from Alfa Romeo would also be used across multiple FCA brands.
He admitted that he may have to reconsider the possibility of a smaller vehicle to slot underneath the Levante in the future.
He also added that the Giorgio architecture would form the basis of "the whole Maserati development beyond 2018".
In the past Mr Sealey has said Maserati would never offer an SUV under the $150,000 mark, and currently that figure is still the baseline for its models, however he admitted that he may have to reconsider the possibility of a smaller vehicle to slot underneath the Levante in the future.
"If we chose to go downmarket with something smaller, it would have to be something that incorporates those six brand pillars for Maserati," Mr Sealey said, listing the aforementioned pillars as performance, sound, exclusivity, Italian made, craftsmanship and design.
"Whether that would be something smaller and far sportier, I don't know (but) certainly there is a market opportunity there."
Should luxury brands stick to making smaller performance cars? Or are hot SUVs the way of the future? Tell us what you think in the comments below.
Related articles
Citroen C4 Cactus gains petrol auto
1 February 2017 by Tim Nicholson
Citroen issues C4 and DS4 recall for potential bonnet issue
23 January 2017 by Robbie Wallis
Subaru, Land Rover and Volvo headline recent recalls
17 January 2017 by Robbie Wallis
Citroen Berlingo 2017 review | road test
3 January 2017 by Tim Robson
Best good-looking car buys by segment
4 November 2016 by Craig Duff
Comments
Get the latest news, reviews and advice every week
Related articles
Citroen C4 Cactus gains petrol auto
1 February 2017 by Tim Nicholson
Citroen issues C4 and DS4 recall for potential bonnet issue
23 January 2017 by Robbie Wallis
Subaru, Land Rover and Volvo headline recent recalls
17 January 2017 by Robbie Wallis
Citroen Berlingo 2017 review | road test
3 January 2017 by Tim Robson
Best good-looking car buys by segment
4 November 2016 by Craig Duff
Related pages
Maserati Levante
Maserati
SUV
Related cars for sale
Search Maserati cars for sale
Search Maserati Levante cars for sale
Search Maserati SUVs for sale
');
}