Maserati aims for growth with varied lineup of EVs, hybrids and ICE

Maserati wants to give customers the luxury of choice amid the industry's shift to electric vehicles.

The new Grecale crossover, with its numerous powertrain offerings, is a prime example of this approach.

The Grecale, which arrived in the U.S. in late 2022, has two mild-hybrid trims and a high-performance conventional gasoline model with a 530-hp V-6 engine derived from Maserati's MC20 supercar. The next step for the Grecale is full electrification, and when that version arrives in the fourth quarter, it will be the Italian brand's first electric crossover.

The story is the same across Maserati's portfolio, with a mix of internal combustion engines that includes V-8 entries and a promise of broader electrification.

Maserati is not a large brand, but the support from parent company Stellantis has enabled it to pursue such a varied slate.

"The only reason we can do this is because we're part of Stellantis," Maserati Americas CEO William Peffer told Automotive News. "We're making dual investments, which is cool."

This is a period of rejuvenation and expansion for the brand, which was marred by a lineup that had grown stale over the past decade. Its U.S. sales, after peaking at 13,699 in 2017, declined in four out of the next five years.

The drought of fresh product is letting up with the introduction of the MC20 halo model in 2022, the Grecale and the upcoming return of the GranTurismo coupe, which went out of production in 2019. The gasoline-powered GranTurismo will launch first this summer, followed by an electric version soon after.

Maserati said last year that it would go all-electric by 2030 and debut electric versions of each nameplate by 2025. Peffer, however, isn't holding the brand to any specific dates to fully make the transition.

"I'm not aware in North America of a drop-dead date that says, 'By this point, this day, we will no longer sell ICE,' " Peffer said. He added that Maserati is observing to see "what the adoption looks like, watch and see where consumer preferences go, watch and see how the rest of the industry deals with the aspects of [charging] infrastructure and things like that."

Maserati's product rush was accompanied by an effort to stabilize the brand by tweaking its distribution methods and lowering incentives. It used to stock vehicles at ports for dealerships to choose from, but the problem was that stores might not want those particular vehicles. Maserati moved away from that in 2021, shifting to fulfilling dealer orders instead.

Peffer said the brand also boosted residual values by bringing incentives down to less than 10 percent of sticker price.

"With that certainty, the dealers have made sounder investments in the brand," Peffer said. "Most of our dealers are not single-point dealers; they're mostly multiple franchise. So, like any good businessperson, they're going to make the investment where they get the best return. We have to show them where the investment in Maserati, not just because of the R&D and the products that we're bringing out, but the investment in Maserati yields a good return."

The brand's work is drawing praise from the top.

"Maserati is back doing the right things in the right way," Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said during a February earnings call. "Strong focus on quality, strong focus on pricing discipline, making sure that we bring modernized iconic products that our customers love."

The brand is more aligned with the market these days. Maserati moved into the utility space for the first time with the 2017 Levante, and the crossover finally has a smaller sibling in the Grecale. This two-tiered utility lineup, Peffer says, is helping Maserati build momentum and letting consumers know that the brand is now "a purveyor of luxury SUVS."

Peffer said Maserati's sales last year and so far in 2023 are primarily utility vehicles. Early data shows that around 80 percent of Grecale sales are conquests.

The Grecale starts at $64,995 with shipping, a price point that may surprise some consumers. Houston Maserati dealer Steven Wolf said the brand's image can make people assume its products are out of their reach, but the Grecale is more accessible.

"I think that there's a lot of people that don't know you can get a Maserati in the $60,000 range, and I think that's something [where] the word needs to get out," said Wolf, who held a private gathering at his dealership for prospective customers to check out the Grecale in September. "I think that would be a significant shot in the arm for us. We're doing a TV campaign; we're going to spend a lot of money talking about that. We have it on our electronic billboard, we put it on our email blast, and I think that drives traffic, at least an opportunity for someone to come check it out."

Peffer said dealers have been pleased with the transformation of the Maserati lineup. The brand held a dealer meeting in Miami this month.

"They're impressed with the cadence and amount of product and technology that we're bringing out in a short period of time," Peffer said. "Remember, this was a brand that launched sedans in 2012 and 2013, and then an SUV in 2016 as a 2017 model, and then we had what we refer to as a long, long walk of no brand-new product.

"The first all-new product from 2017 to current was the 2022 MC20 five years later."

Randy Dye, who owns Maserati-Alfa Romeo of Daytona in Daytona Beach, Fla., said what the brand is and where it's heading have never been clearer in his nearly 10 years as a Maserati dealer.

"The essence of this business is products," Dye said. "It's the reason that your heart starts pumping; it's what gets you excited. We can have all kinds of strategy and discussions on how we're going to market, what kind of cool commercials and all that stuff, but if you don't have cool, fun, beautiful stuff, you don't get considered.

"Yeah, they got stale, but they're not stale now. They're in the gym working out, and stuff is coming."