Maserati is just months away from launching its first ever SUV, the Levante, and already people are talking about a second, smaller crossover. Apparently, it’s just talk, because Maserati CEO Harald Wester has ruled out building a rival for the Porsche Macan.
While the Levante will be launched at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show and will go on sale later in the year, an SUV that will sit below it is not likely to happen, Wester said. Reports suggested Maserati could expand its SUV lineup with a smaller vehicle using a platform from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, but the executive said he wouldn’t launch a model that would compete with the upcoming Alfa Romeo and Jeep SUVs.
“We are an extremely complex multi-brand group and to have everyone doing a little bit of everything is not the right way. We have nameplates that cover that ground, or that plan to cover that ground,” Wester was quoted as saying by Autocar. “In this business, you should never say ‘no’ in a dogmatic way, but my personal opinion is that Maserati wouldn’t want to go below the Levante in size,” he added.
Maserati has high hopes with the Levante, which is expected to be decisive for its plan to increase sales to 75,000 units by 2018, 3,000 of which in the UK.
Note: 2011 Maserati Kubang Concept pictured
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