Maserati Levante SUV confirmed for 2015 - Alfieri could arrive in 2016

Fiat boss Sergio Marchionne has confirmed that the Maserati Levante SUV will start production in 2015 and the Alfieri could arrive in two years time.

The Maserati Levante SUV (pictured) will arrive in 2015

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Fiat’s plans top revive the Maserati brand are off to a good start after sales grew strongly last year to more than 22,500 cars in the first nine months with the new Quattroporte and new Ghibli contributing strongly to those figures.

But with a target of 50,000 sales a year, Maserati need new models too and the next in line for production is the Maserati Levante SUV, which Sergio Marchionne has now confirmed will arrive in production guise in 2015.

It was expected the Levante would be a re-working of the new Jeep Grand Cherokee, but with the Grand Cherokee selling in droves – and with a desire to make the Levante as ‘Italian’ as possible – it now looks like the Levante will get a version of the platform underpinning the Ghibli and use Maserati’s own 4WD system.

That will probably make the Levante a more road-focused car than it would have been with Jeep underpinnings, but the loss of some off-road ability probably won’t harm sales one dot.

Marchionne also commented to Reuters that the Maserati Alfieri – a car we think Maserati must build – is likely to be ready to go in 2016 if it gets signed off for production (which it surely must?).

And with the Levante SUV and Alfieri Sports Car in the offing, Maserati’s aim of 50,000 sales a year starts to look almost pessimistic.