Its first-ever SUV is not just a break with tradition for Maserati, but also a way to attract a new demographic.
Maserati CEO Harald Wester told Drive he is confident that the Levante will attract women and younger people.
“I don’t know why females drive these cars, but I have an idea. If you talk to the SUV customers, they will give you five rationales from towing capacity, passenger seating’ all this rational stuff. But at the end of the day, the design – if they want it, they’ll fall in love with the machine for whatever reason.“.
Apart from the luxury crossover, which is expected be a hit in global markets, the trident’s chief hinted towards the possibility of a much broader range: “The question is not whether we will do a second or third SUV or otherwise, which is nothing that we need to discuss right now; the question is ‘how will the technical base of our customers evolve’.“
While Ferrari, which despite being spun-off has a close cooperation with Maserati, does not plan to adoptautonomous technology on its supercars anytime soon, Wester commented that he has no such qualms and , additionally, electrification will play an important role in the Italian automaker’s future: “We will go heavily into electrification and we will see huge, huge progress in terms of autonomous driving.”
Electric motors, self-driving cars and, of course, off-roaders: goes to show that no matter how long and illustrious your tradition, you can’t fight the future.
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