Future launch dates for the new Maserati Granturismo and Grancabrio 2+2 GT cars have been swapped with the two-seat Alfieri sports car, Autocar understands.
The Granturismo and Grancabrio are now slated to be replaced in 2018-2019, followed by the Alfieri in 2020-2021, as Maserati rejigs its forward planning.
At one stage, the Alfieri, shown as a well-received concept at Geneva in 2014, was scheduled for a 2016 launch and the future of the Granturismo was in doubt.
However, Giulio Pastore, general manager of Maserati Europe, has told Autocar the Granturismo and Grancabrio are vital elements of the Maserati line-up.
“The Granturismo and Grancabrio will not be dropped,” he said. “We won’t forget that Maserati is very well known in its history for beautiful 2+2 GT cars and we will replace them, then the Alfieri.”
It also looks as though the future of the Grancabrio is now assured. A previous product plan had it ending production and being replaced by a soft-top Alfieri.
Key decisions on the platform and styling of the Alfieri are also yet to be taken, Pastore said. Maserati could leave the design sign-off until 2018 for a 2020 sales launch.
The Levante SUV took 22 months to get into production after it received the green light, Maserati’s exterior design chief, Giovanni Ribotta, told Autocar.
Ribotta also designed the Alfieri concept and the Ghibli and was part of the design team on the new Quattroporte.
“The Alfieri has been very important for Maserati,” he said. “The grille and much of the shape and details have influenced the Ghibli and the Levante.”
Pastore also ruled out a compact SUV that could be positioned below the Levante to tackle the Porsche Macan and Range Rover Evoque.
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F-Type
The Ferrari-Maserati-Alfa melange......
Plus, we have the Giulia QV price-bracketed alongside Maserati, but presumably Maserati is more 'comfort-orientated' ? I think this is a tad confusing, which probably explains why the larger UK dealer groups may well hesitate about selling them through different dealerships.
I buy a Maserati from a Ferrari dealer but I get a QV from an Alfa dealer that might also be selling Skoda under the same roof - even though the QV is priced at £ 60K. Should this not be a Maserati in the first place, and be damned with Alfa's glorious past...which most are blissfully unaware of, anyway ?
I get that FCA need for economy of scale for development and manufacturing but I still think their brand- and customer-experience planning, with the resultant 'delivery to market' experience, is messy and confused. Result: lacklustre sales.
BertoniBertone wrote:
Hi BertoniBertone, I think this type of mentality is what has held back FCA in recent decades. Like not having performance Lancia in order to not tread on Alfa's toes. Fact is, for every 100 QV you sell, you may have fewer Ghibli, but probably not 100 fewer. Most people won't start with "I want an Italian car" but "I want a sporty saloon"; each model will also steal sales from BMW or Jag or Audi... you get the point. In the end the net result is still favourable for FCA. Just look at VAG, the Octavia VRs and Leon Cupra and Golf GTI or R and Audi S3 effectively compete with each other (and the Scirocco and the hot Beetle, if there is such thing, and possibly the TT), but they crucially increase the chance that buyers choose a car from the Group as opposed to a Focus or Megane. I am not sure the Golf or S3, on its own, would sell as much as the four models combined, and that's all that really matters. Of course the brand managers and model managers will have targets of their own, but what really matters is the shareholder (Group) perspective.
BertoniBertone wrote:
Hi BertoniBertone, I think this type of mentality is what has held back FCA in recent decades. Like not having performance Lancia in order to not tread on Alfa's toes. Fact is, for every 100 QV you sell, you may have fewer Ghibli, but probably not 100 fewer. Most people won't start with "I want an Italian car" but "I want a sporty saloon"; each model will also steal sales from BMW or Jag or Audi... you get the point. In the end the net result is still favourable for FCA. Just look at VAG, the Octavia VRs and Leon Cupra and Golf GTI or R and Audi S3 effectively compete with each other (and the Scirocco and the hot Beetle, if there is such thing, and possibly the TT), but they crucially increase the chance that buyers choose a car from the Group as opposed to a Focus or Megane. I am not sure the Golf or S3, on its own, would sell as much as the four models combined, and that's all that really matters. Of course the brand managers and model managers will have targets of their own, but what really matters is the shareholder (Group) perspective.
I get your point Giulivo...
I'm not sure you've got that linearity within the Alfa brand to merit you 'doing a Bentley' and transitioning over to Maserati from, say, a QV.
In reality, it seems to me, the 'marketing differentials' between AR and Maser are a bit artificial. The UK is a pretty open and agnostic market and I think Fiat realised long ago that Lancia (though much loved with an esteemed history) was never going to take on a 'sister brand' dynamic like Skoda or Seat does to VW or Audi. That's why it's as dead as a dodo - unfortunately.
This is FCA's problem. If Ferrari is to be kept separate then I'd amalgamate Maser with AR and put meaningful resources not just into engineering 'across the brands' but into the 'customer experience' at network level since whilst I'd contemplate spending M4 money on an Alfa I'd take one look at their UK dealer network and walk the other way. The German premium brands - in particular BMW - realised long ago that the 'customer experience' is just as crucial as the engineering.
It's like a good-looking F-Type