Maserati Levante SUV Plug-in Hybrid on the way to add to the UK’s diesel only choice

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The Maserati Levante SUV will be available with a plug-in powerplant in 2017 to add to the UK’s current diesel only option.

The Maserati Levante SUV was revealed officially last week at the Geneva Motor Show, and goes on sale in Europe in the coming months (although the UK won’t get RHD versions until much later in the year).

We’re not entirely sure the Levante has a significant USP beyond the Maserati badge – it’s seems a bit derivative and generic – but it seems likely the badge alone will entice (some) buyers to eschew the joys of a Porsche Cayenne or Range Rover Sport, and grow Maserati’s sales in the process.

The main appeal of the Levante – beyond the Maserati badge – is the Ferrari developed 3.0 litre V6 Turbo engine – good for either 345bhp or 424bhp – which lurks under the Levante’s bonnet. But the UK isn’t getting it.

Maserati has decided there’s no market for the Ferrari-engined Levante in the UK, so we have to make do with the quote prosaic diesel pinched from the Ghibli. But it looks like there’s going to be another option.

Motor Trend are reporting that Maserati boss, Harald Wester, has confirmed Maserati are planning to add a plug-in hybrid option for the Levante – probably in 2017 – which will give an additional powerplant option.

Wester made it clear that Maserati wouldn’t be going it alone top develop the plug-in, but would be looking to FCA to provide existing technology. That looks likely to come from the next generation of the Chrysler Pacifica people carrier, which will deliver an electric-only range of around 30 miles from a 16kWh lithium ion battery.

Whether the plug-in Levante will offer more performance than the diesel remains to be discovered, but it would give Maserati some big BIK advantages for business buyers in the UK.