According to foreign media reports, Maserati, a luxury car brand under the Strattis Group, announced on March 11 that it has cancelled its plan to launch an electric MC20 sports car due to poor expectations of poor demand.
A Maserati spokesman said in an emailed statement that Maserati made the decision based on business prospects and expected limited sales of the model in the next few years.
The spokesperson added that MC20 customers prefer high-performance gasoline engines, and “for the foreseeable future, they are not ready to turn to pure electric vehicles.”
There are actually signs of changes in Maserati’s electrification strategy. Its parent company Strantis did not confirm the previously announced Maserati electrification plan at a meeting with the union in November 2024, and then news of the plan was cancelled. Recently, Stralandis Chief Financial Officer Doug Ostermann said in a recent earnings call that he had cancelled investment in Maserati worth 1.5 billion euros, which made the future of the Maserati MC20 and the successors of the Quattroporte and Levante electric versions full of variables.
It is reported that Maserati originally planned to launch the pure electric sports car MC20 Folgore this year, which is an electric version of the MC20 sports car under the luxury brand.
The MC20 model was launched in 2020 with a horsepower of up to 630 and is currently produced in the Maserati headquarters, the northern Italian city of Modena, with a starting price of about 240,000 euros ($262,000).
Maserati’s product line does include the electric version of the GranTurismo coupe and convertible GranCabrio, and the electric version of the Grecale SUV.
But now, except for the MC20 derivative GT2 Stradale, which is expected to be launched in the first quarter of this year, Maserati has no plans to launch other new models.
In contrast, other luxury sports car manufacturers have launched electric versions. Ferrari, also an Italian sports car maker, will launch its first electric car in October this year, while Lamborghini, a subsidiary of the Volkswagen Group, will launch its first electric car in 2029. German luxury car brand Porsche has launched electric models since 2019.
In 2024, the Maserati brand sold only 11,300 cars, far lower than the 26,600 in 2023, with an adjusted operating loss of 260 million euros (US$284 million). It is reported that Maserati’s parent company Strantis is currently reevaluating the brand’s business plan.