Maserati delays the launch of its seventh-generation Quattroporte, saying it has placed a planned start to production of the electric-powered 4-door sedan “on hold.”
The Maserati model, a successor to both the existing internal-combustion-engine Quattroporte and Ghibli, was scheduled to begin pilot production later this year at parent company Stellantis’ Mirafiori plant in Turin, Italy, before being launched in European markets in early 2025 and the North American market during the second half of next year.
However, the decision to delay production now places the original market introduction timing in doubt.
“We are keeping our suppliers and partners posted on this point,” Maserati says in a statement.
Suggestions are Stellantis is seeking to reduce the production costs of the next Maserati Quattroporte, which is expected to be based on the multinational automaker’s new STLA Large electric-vehicle platform, following pricing pressure in key global markets.
Stellantis, parent company to 14 individual automotive and automotive services brands, confirmed an investment of €1.5 billion ($US1.64 billion) in Chinese electric-vehicle start-up Leapmotor in October 2023, becoming a strategic shareholder in the Hangzhou-based company.
Sources at Stellantis’s global headquarters in Amsterdam, Netherlands, say its officials have been quick to study Leapmotor’s “cost-efficient electric vehicle eco-system to explore mutually beneficial synergies” and intend to use the information gained to help reduce the cost of its future electric models, including those from Maserati.
The delay in production plans for the new Quattroporte comes after setbacks in the introduction of electric versions of Maserati’s GranTurismo and Grecale models.
Maserati has said it aims to have a range of electric-only models on sale by 2030.
