Maserati is set to bring a hybrid version of the Ghibli to the Beijing Motor Show in April, which will also be the Italian marque’s first electrified model, Automotive News Europe reports. This is expected to feature a plug-in hybrid powertrain, though Maserati has yet to release details of the hybrid electric drive system.
China is an important market for Maserati, and the move to electrification is likely to boost demand for the brand in the country as buyers of the PHEV Ghibli would be eligible for a 10,000 yuan (RM5,882) subsidy from the Chinese government, Automotive News Europe reported. The incentives are offered for plug-in hybrids, but not for other kinds of hybrid vehicles, it added.
The possible sales volume boost will be timely as Maserati sales in China dropped by 27% to 6,100 units last year, according to estimates from market researchers JATO Dynamics. Meanwhile, the Italian carmaker is expected to release its sales figures for 2019 next month.
According to Maserati’s business plan detailed last September, the marque will be releasing fully electric successors to the GranTurismo and the GranCabrio, both of which will be manufactured at the Turin production facility which has been earmarked for an investment of 800 million euros.
Another all-new sports car from the marque is set for unveiling in May, and this will also likely be hybridised instead of purely electric, given that the released teaser clip featured the sounds of an eight-cylinder engine and Maserati having stated previously that all future models will be electrified or fully electric.
This new car, therefore, isn’t meant to replace to GranTurismo, as the aforementioned EV successor to the GT is slated for arrival in 2021 instead, with the GranCabrio successor following suit in 2022. Rumours and past suggestions from Maserati itself hinted for this to be a smaller, sportier model that is likely to be the productionised version of the Alfieri concept.
Closer to the present, The flagship Quattroporte sedan and the Levante SUV are also due to receive facelifts this year. This will be the second update for the Quattroporte, with the first facelift unveiled in 2016, with the Levante having made its debut the same year.
GALLERY: Maserati Alfieri concept
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I hope our Perodua fanboy don’t come to talk about Proton EV while his gamechanging Kenari Hybrid that was promised to come in 2003 is still nowhere to be seen after 17 years later. His gamechanging talk is gameover.