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Maserati to Launch Electric GT by 2020, Laughs at Tesla's Execution and Quality

Maserati cars may not be known for their reliability, but they can brag about quality interior detailing and exquisite exterior design. However, when you plan on introducing your first EV, that's not enough.
Maserati Alfieri Concept 6 photos
Photo: Maserati
Maserati Alfieri ConceptMaserati Alfieri ConceptMaserati Alfieri ConceptMaserati Alfieri ConceptMaserati Alfieri Concept
No, you also must have a go at the current segment leader, Tesla. Even though Maserati suggested its first car to use battery power isn't going to be a sedan or an SUV, so it won't be a direct competitor for Tesla, that doesn't mean it still isn't a good idea to announce your presence by attacking straight at the top.

Surprisingly, the man doing the honors is not the FCA Group's CEO, Mr. Sergio Marchionne - a well-known opposer of electric cars - but Roberto Fedeli, the brand's new head of engineering. Fedeli has joined the Italian luxury brand earlier this year, having left BMW's "i" division, so you could say he knows a thing or two about electric vehicles.

Well, he knows enough to identify the current brand to beat, something made clear by his statement during an interview in Paris with Car and Driver: “I don’t think that Tesla is the best product in the market but they are doing 50,000 cars a year. The execution and quality of the products of Tesla are the same as a German OEM in the 1970s. Their solutions are not the best.

Considering Maserati won't show its EV sooner than 2019, Fedeli can say whatever he wants as it will all be forgotten by then anyway. Besides, he has a full plate on his hands: it's one thing for regular, mainstream brands to make an EV, and a completely different one for a manufacturer that prides itself, among other things, with the sound its engines produce.

Sound is not the most important characteristic of electric cars,” he said. “The EV is something different and we have to [give] the car [Maserati character] without having one of our most important parameters.” Judging by his statements, you could suspect he's actually upset with the task at hand. “[In an EV], you feel a lot of weight, more than anything else. Torque and power are interesting for a very few seconds but then the weight does not let you enjoy the car on a normal road,” Fedeli said. “That’s inconsistent with the brand we are representing and needs to be solved.

Well, the good news for the Maserati head of engineering is that he has plenty of time until 2020, when the electric Grand Tourer is expected to enter production.
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About the author: Vlad Mitrache
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"Boy meets car, boy loves car, boy gets journalism degree and starts job writing and editing at a car magazine" - 5/5. (Vlad Mitrache if he was a movie)
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