Maserati plans 6 EV offensive by 2025 to capitalize on 'BEVolution'

MODENA, Italy -- Maserati will offer battery-powered variants of its entire six-car portfolio by 2025, the company said, adding that it will group its electric models under a newly created line called Folgore, which means lightning in Italian.

By making sure all Maserati models includes a battery-electric vehicle, or BEV, the Fiat Chrysler Automobiles subsidiary expects to gain from what Maserati product planning manager Alessio Barausse calls a forthcoming “BEVolution.”

By 2025, Barausse said Maserati expects the number of battery-electric models in its reference markets to grow to 30 models, resulting in 650,000 global sales, up from six models and 130,000 sales last year.

When asked during the unveiling of the MC20 supercar here this week how many of the 75,000 total units Maserati plans to sell globally by 2025 will be full electric, FCA CEO Mike Manley said: “One day 100 percent of cars will be electric, but we do not know when this will happen.”

Models in the Folgore range will be equipped with three electric motors: one on the front axle and one each on the rear wheels. The trio of motors, which will have the same output, will allow Folgore models to offer all-wheel drive as well as seamless torque vectoring, said Davide Danesin, who is project manager for new GranTurismo, which will be the first Folgore model when arrives in 2022.

While he declined to provide any technical specifications for the half-dozen Folgore models, Danesin did say they will all offer a battery pack with about 100 kilowatt hours of power.

“For customers in these luxury segments, we plan to offer just the top in terms of power and range, therefore, we do not plan smaller battery packs that could save some money in the purchasing price, but sacrifice performance and range,” Danesin said.

Maserati has not revealed its battery cell supplier, although it did say its battery packs will be assembled at a facility called the Battery Hub that FCA created in Turin. The Battery Hub will also supply the Fiat New 500 full-electric model that will arrive at dealers later this year. 

Like the Porsche Taycan, Folgore-badged models will be based on an 800-volt electrical architecture designed to offer rapid recharging. Danesin said that a Folgore model could add 130 km of range in just 5 minutes if plugged into a 300-kilowatt charging station.