The Fiat Group may have its share of problems, especially in Europe, yet CEO Sergio Marchionne recently announced that its second most prestigious brand, Maserati, will soon launch no less than three new models.
“Maserati will increase its volumes by having three cars”, said Marchionne after the CBI conference in London last week. According to British publication Car Magazine, Marchionne said that these would be the Kubang SUV, the Quattroporte replacement and a smaller four-door sedanthat will compete in the E-segment against the likes of the Jaguar XF and BMW 5-Series.
The Fiat boss also confirmed that “the donor architecture [for the smaller sedan] is the Chrysler 300, but the suspension is completely different and the engines are totally Ferrari/Maserati.”
He also said that Maserati would remain, for the biggest part, an Italian carmaker: “Apart from the Kubang, the big saloons will stay in Italy. There is a site in Modena that makes the Quattroporte. There’s some debate to what happens to that plant after the Quattroporte. There is sufficient commonality in what we’re doing between the smaller car and the bigger one that we can do what we want.”
Last, but not least, he addressed the issue of VW being interested in the acquisition of Alfa Romeo: “Alfa in VW’s hands would not be Alfa” he said, claiming that the German group’s platform strategy would alter the company’s character. Besides, he added, Alfa is currently not up for sale now.
However, Marchionne did not rule out this happening in the future if someone made Fiat an offer it couldn’t refuse…
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