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Maserati rules out smaller Macan rival

These days every luxury automaker is going after the Porsche Cayenne with a crossover of its own. Among those coming up is the Maserati Levante, which will mark the Trident marque's first foray into high-riding territory. But don't expect it to follow up with a Macan rival as well. Speaking with Autocar, Maserati chief Harald Wester ruled out the possibility of a smaller crossover to join the Levante in the Modenese automaker's lineup, ostensibly because doing so would step on the toes of other brands under the Fiat Chrysler umbrella – particularly with Alfa Romeo set to launch a crossover of its own. "We are an extremely complex multi-brand group and to have every doing a little bit of everything is not the right way," Wester told the British magazine. "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." And Wester's opinion goes a long way in the halls in Turin and Auburn Hills: he's head of both the Maserati and Alfa Romeo brands, and is also the group's Chief Technology Officer. That's something that has never seemed to deter the Volkswagen Group, though, where Bentley is gearing up to take on its sister company's Cayenne with the upcoming Bentayga and is also said to be considering a Macan rival. And that's to say nothing of other SUVs occupying similar size and price positions from Volkswagen, Audi and potentially Lamborghini. Which only serves to underline the different approaches taken by Europe's two largest automakers. Look for the Levante to debut at the 2016 Detroit Auto Show.

Stellantis ready to kill brands and fix U.S. problems, CEO Tavares says

  MILAN — Stellantis is taking steps to fix weak margins and high inventory at its U.S. operations and will not hesitate to axe underperforming brands in its sprawling portfolio, its chief executive Carlos Tavares said on Thursday. The warning for lossmaking brands is a turnaround for Tavares, who has maintained since Stellantis was created in 2021 from the merger of Italian-American automaker Fiat Chrysler and France's PSA that all of its 14 brands including Maserati, Fiat, Peugeot and Jeep have a future. "If they don't make money, we'll shut them down," Carlos Tavares told reporters after the world's No. 4 automaker delivered worse-than-expected first-half results, sending its shares down as much as 10%. "We cannot afford to have brands that do not make money." The automaker now also considers China's Leapmotor as its 15th brand, after it agreed to a broad cooperation with the group. Stellantis does not release figures for individual brands, except for Maserati which reported an 82 million euro adjusted operating loss in the first half. Some analysts say Maserati could possibly be a target for a sale by Stellantis, while other brands such as Lancia or DS might be at risk of being scrapped given their marginal contribution to the group's overall sales. Stellantis' Milan-listed shares were down as much as 12.5% on Thursday, hitting their lowest since August 2023. That brings the loss for the year so far to 22%, making them the worst performer among the major European automakers. Few automotive brands have been killed off since General Motors ditched the unprofitable Saturn and Pontiac during a U.S. government-led bankruptcy in the global financial crisis in 2008. Tavares is under pressure to revive flagging margins and sales and cut inventory in the United States as Stellantis bets on the launch of 20 new models this year which it hopes will boost profitability. Recent poor results from global carmakers have heightened worries about a weakening outlook for sales across major markets such as the U.S., whilst they also juggle an expensive transition to electric vehicles and growing competition from cheaper Chinese rivals. Japan's Nissan Motor saw first-quarter profit almost completely wiped out on Thursday and slashed its annual outlook, as deep discounting in the United States shredded its margins. Tavares said he would be working through the summer with his U.S. team on how to improve performance and cut inventory.

Maserati GranTurismo Folgore EV shows its shapely sheetmetal

The electric version of the next-generation Maserati GranTurismo is racing towards production. After releasing preliminary specifications, the Italian brand published a batch of photos that show the elegant-looking coupe prowling the streets of Rome, Italy, with very little camouflage. Maserati will lump its upcoming electric models under the Folgore name, a word which means "lightning" in Italian. Its photos suggest that the next GranTurismo will continue to feature the proportions that characterized the original model; the hood is long, the roof line is almost fastback-like, and the trunk is relatively short. These are the styling cues that we expect from a luxury car pelted in the GT segment. Up front, the coupe falls in line with the design language inaugurated by the MC20 and recently seen on the Grecale. The grille is wide and positioned low on the fascia, while the swept-back headlights are mounted higher. We haven't seen the GranTurismo's rear end yet. As we previously reported, Maserati announced that the GranTurismo Folgore will offer over 1,200 horsepower from three electric motors. Figures like the coupe's zero-to-60-mph time and top speed haven't been revealed, but that's a number that should unlock seriously quick acceleration. And, Maserati is committed to letting customers choose whether to go electric. Buyers not interested in getting an EV will have at least one V6-powered version of the GranTurismo to choose from, though here again official details aren't available yet. More details about the Maserati GranTurismo Folgore should emerge in the coming months, and the coupe's unveiling is scheduled for 2023. Looking ahead, the Folgore range will grow with an electric version of the Grecale and replacements for the Quattroporte and the Levante, among other models. On the V6-powered side of the line-up, the mid-engined MC20 will spawn a convertible in the near future. Related video: This content is hosted by a third party. To view it, please update your privacy preferences. Manage Settings.