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Written by Stephen Dobie
We spoke to Maserati CEO Reid Bigland at the Geneva motor show. And if you"re hoping for an exciting update on the lovely Alfieri concept that debuted in Geneva three years ago, you"d better look away now. It seems here, as with the rest of the car industry, SUVs are the way forward."For sure, that"s where consumer preference continues to go," says Bigland. "Porsche I think is a great example. As a kid I always thought of 911s as the classic Porsches, and that is now a brand that"s 70 per cent SUVs, and the minority is the cars."If Maserati does have more SUVs in the future, they need to perform like passenger cars; be a Maserati first, and have the functionality of an SUV second. I don"t think anything is off the table with regard to future product portfolios at Maserati. The Levante could be 45 per cent of Maserati volume in just one year"s time. But it"s really about building vehicles that consumers want to buy. And right now consumers want to buy SUVs."Does this, we ask, come at the expense of things like the Alfieri, and a replacement for the now ten-year-old GranTurismo?"I think there"s a bit more to it than that. For us to be true to Maserati DNA, having a coupe in the portfolio is important, even though it"s never going to put up the sales volume of an SUV. Sometimes there"s more to it than sales volumes; a halo vehicle like a GranTurismo is very important to the Maserati line up."The GranTurismo, like all good things, will eventually come to an end," Bigland continues. "That was going to be the end of last year, but we"ve extended the product. That"s a vehicle we"re looking to keep in production at least this year, and into the foreseeable future. Eventually we"re going to have to come up with a replacement."Are they working on it? "It"s one of the things on the board, and it is orbiting the Maserati Earth, but there is nothing to announce right now. Alfieri is still orbiting the Maserati Earth too. I can"t comment on its readiness for re-entry."
Date written: 7 Mar 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 6985
We spoke to Maserati CEO Reid Bigland at the Geneva motor show. And if you"re hoping for an exciting update on the lovely Alfieri concept that debuted in Geneva three years ago, you"d better look away now. It seems here, as with the rest of the car industry, SUVs are the way forward."For sure, that"s where consumer preference continues to go," says Bigland. "Porsche I think is a great example. As a kid I always thought of 911s as the classic Porsches, and that is now a brand that"s 70 per cent SUVs, and the minority is the cars."If Maserati does have more SUVs in the future, they need to perform like passenger cars; be a Maserati first, and have the functionality of an SUV second. I don"t think anything is off the table with regard to future product portfolios at Maserati. The Levante could be 45 per cent of Maserati volume in just one year"s time. But it"s really about building vehicles that consumers want to buy. And right now consumers want to buy SUVs."Does this, we ask, come at the expense of things like the Alfieri, and a replacement for the now ten-year-old GranTurismo?"I think there"s a bit more to it than that. For us to be true to Maserati DNA, having a coupe in the portfolio is important, even though it"s never going to put up the sales volume of an SUV. Sometimes there"s more to it than sales volumes; a halo vehicle like a GranTurismo is very important to the Maserati line up."The GranTurismo, like all good things, will eventually come to an end," Bigland continues. "That was going to be the end of last year, but we"ve extended the product. That"s a vehicle we"re looking to keep in production at least this year, and into the foreseeable future. Eventually we"re going to have to come up with a replacement."Are they working on it? "It"s one of the things on the board, and it is orbiting the Maserati Earth, but there is nothing to announce right now. Alfieri is still orbiting the Maserati Earth too. I can"t comment on its readiness for re-entry."
Date written: 7 Mar 2017
More of this article on the Top gear website
ID: 6985
