No, you didn’t read that wrong.
Maserati has an electric car in the works for 2020. Maserati, the Italian luxury automaker that is renowned for making vehicles that costs upwards of $70,000 — if you catch the dealer on a good day. While the parent company Fiat Chrysler (FCA) has produced a Fiat 500e, the Maserati EV will probably be a little different. In an interview with Car & Driver, the FCA boss Roberto Fedeli gave us a little information regarding Maserati’s latest undertaking, such as the potential release date, and design of the proposed EV.
How do I feel about it? Conflicted. But confident that I’m not alone in thinking that releasing a vehicle which a company has no experience with, in just over two years from now, seems like an impossible feat. Unless, of course, they’ve already been working on it for a while and keeping their efforts under wraps.
The Release Date
In that same interview, Fedeli said he’d like to see the car launched as soon as possible. He’d at least like to show something before 2020 – more specifically, 2019. While that’s ambitious, is it really plausible? Of course, Maserati might be influenced by its sister company’s vehicle, which might speed up the process. But, I really don’t think that will be the case — especially after reading the design Maserati is considering.
Will it be a rush job because Maserati is excited to try and cash in on the quickly growing EV market for 2019, or will they take longer if necessary? We’re going to have to wait and see.
Design
Fedeli said the Maserati version of the EV will be a low-volume model, designed like a grand-tourer as opposed to an SUV or large sedan. Then again, it really wouldn’t make sense to have an electric SUV.
Unfortunately, Maserati’s aspirations for the design might not match up with the time constraints. Since Maserati will be one of the last major automotive players to finally join the EV game, the designers will want to create something very different. Something that stands out. Like I said before, hopefully they don’t rush to create it simply because they want something unique-looking in the EV world when 2019 rolls around — just a little over two years from now.
Fedeli said the Maserati EV will be an interesting challenge for the company, which is known for luxury to the nines, combined with very sporty driving dynamics. But, the Maserati team is going to go for it anyway. Part of the challenge, according to Fedeli, is that Maserati does not want the electric car to be “inconsistent with the brand we are representing.” The fact that a less-powerful electric engine and heavy batteries will take away from the sporty feel alone will be a big obstacle for a company used to producing only throaty and fast vehicles.
Which is why I’m thinking that this won’t be out in 2019. While it’s a nice thought, there are just too many challenges that Maserati is going to face when making this vehicle that will prove to work against the time limit the designers have set for themselves. The clock is ticking, and unless they’ve already been working on it for a while, we shouldn’t hold our collective breath.
