Maserati Levante 2016 News

Ford has recalled 8878 examples of its Kuga mid-size SUV over a potential fire risk.

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission (ACCC) has issued safety recalls for the recently launched Maserati Levante SUV and several Audi models over engine faults.

Maserati's emblem depicts a weapon, which is now turned threateningly in the direction of Porsche and Range Rover.The new Levante, the latest model from the boutique Italian brand with the trident badge, aims to challenge well-established luxury SUV rivals built elsewhere in Europe.Maserati chief Harald Wester told the crowd at the Levante’s Geneva unveiling that it was “a truly unique alternative to the rest”.The German-born engineer cites the Maserati’s technical advantages. The big, tall and broad SUV has a lower centre of gravity than competitors and ideal 50-50 weight distribution front and rear. It’s been designed to handle well on normal roads, in other words.Wester claims the Levante can match the best in class all-round capability, meaning it’s been engineered to cope with snow and sand, mud and rocks.An SUV was always part of Maserati’s brand-revival master plan, he says.The Levante shares many mechanical parts and much of its structure with the successful Ghibli and Quattroporte sedans. Both started production years before Levante but the SUV was taken into account at the design stage.Road testing will establish whether the Levante can do all Wester says it can. In the case of Australia, that is some way off.Levante production is under way in Turin but Europe, the US and other large markets head the queue for deliveries.Maserati Australasia boss Glen Sealey expects the first Levante shipment to reach Australia at the end of the year.They will all be diesel powered, he says, with the same 202kW 3.0-litre turbo diesel V6 used in the Ghibli and Quattroporte. “That is the most important drivetrain,” Sealey says, noting the dominance of diesels in the luxury SUV market in Australia.Pricing is yet to be decided but Maserati’s cheapest current model is the $140,000 Ghibli diesel. Levantes will have an eight-speed automatic and Maserati’s Q4 all-wheel-drive. Petrol engine options will be 243kW and 301kW versions of the company’s twin-turbo 3.0-litre V6, produced by Ferrari.These engines are not confirmed for Australia but Sealey reckons the Levante will become the brand’s best-selling model here.

Luxury car buyers will again be spoiled for choice this year, with a new arrival to suit every budget.

Ferrari and Maserati will re-enter Adelaide's new car market early next year on the back of a boom in luxury car sales across the country. Solitaire Automotive Group will unveil a new state-of-the-art Maserati showroom in the first quarter of next year after winning exclusive dealership rights for the Trident brand, while Adelaide Motors is finalising designs for its Ferrari showroom which is due to open on Hindley St soon after.The Fiat stablemates have been absent from Adelaide's new car market since November 2011, when previous dealer Prestige Formula was downgraded. Strict guidelines from their Italian headquarters have meant a lengthy design process for the new boutique showrooms.Solitaire Maserati will be located at the former Lexus site at Parkside - part of a plan to deliver an eightfold increase in SA sales by 2016. Solitaire managing director David Smoker said Maserati was a good fit with the dealer's other luxury brands which included Aston Martin, Bentley, Jaguar and Land Rover.'We've had a fair bit of success with our luxury sports brands - the people of Adelaide have an appreciation for luxury sports cars," he said. Sales of supercars in Australia are up 72 per cent since the lows of the global financial crisis with enthusiasts snapping up more than 190 exotic cars per month this year.In the first 10 months of this year a total of 85 new cars were sold across the Aston Martin, Bentley, Ferrari, Lotus, Maserati, McLaren and Porsche brands in South Australia - up 12 per cent from last year. Maserati's ambitious three-year plan to reach annual Australian sales of 1350 vehicles will be led by two new four door models - the Quattroporte and the Ghibli which will both be on show at the new Solitaire showroom.The sedans will be followed by the 2015 launch of the Levante, a high performance SUV. However, according to Ferrari Australasia chief executive Herbert Appleroth, the prancing horse is taking a slightly different approach, keeping a close eye on volumes as it seeks greater exclusivity.'While we have reduced our global production down from 7500 cars to 7000 in 2013, the Australasian deliveries will be similar in 2013 as compared to 2012," he said. 'We expect South Australia to see high levels of growth as we have not been represented in Adelaide for a number of years." Maserati owner Pam Russo expects the new four-door range to strike a chord with Adelaide buyers.I'm a believer that everyone deserves a little luxury and in my family's case it's a Maserati," she said. 

Demand for luxury cars has put Maserati on the curve of a wave that has swelled global orders to 22,500 cars, equivalent to four times its 2012 sales.Ghibli and a new Quattroporte are the catalysts but, without these models, it's not yet the case in Australia. Australia's upper large, $100,000-plus segment in which these new Maseratis will play is now up 12.8 per cent year-to-date - the only passenger-car segment aside from small cars to post a two-digit growth."We won't see Quattroporte - except for some of the very first order that are here before Christmas - in volume until the first quarter of 2014," says Maserati Australia general manager Glen Sealey."Ghibli will be here in the second quarter of next year." Mr Sealey says Australia is still waiting for the big wave because "we tend to be about 12 months behind Europe and the US in sales.""That's because we get new models some time after they're launched in Italy," he says. "The new Quattroporte has been in Europe for some months and the Ghibli is now on sale there."Mr Sealey says Maserati Australia is in a strong position despite not having stock. "We have the best year ever for GranTurismo but the problem is we are out of stock," he says. "We sell about 150 Maseratis a year in Australia and New Zealand with three models. The Quattroporte isn't available until the new model and GranCabrio stock is selling quickly."Mr Sealey says sales for Australia this year will be stable but he says 2014 - the marque's centenary - will be a record. "Ghibli will open up a new segment for us and new Quattroporte will rejuvenate the luxury car sector," he says. "The first few months of Ghibli stock has already been sold out. We are also holding strong orders for Quattroporte."It is in line with Maserati's plan to reach 50,000 sales a year by 2015, though the Mirafiori plant in Torino which will build the Levante SUV is yet to be finished." Mr Sealey expects Levante to add up to 50 per cent of Maserati's annual Australian sales. "It's a massive market segment," he says.Levante is expected in Australia by mid-2015. Maserati stated today that it is holding 17,000 orders for the Quattroporte and 7900 for Ghibli. It also has 5000 orders for the GranTurismo and GranCabrio. "Maserati is well on target to see sales for 2013 beating its best every year 9000 sales in 2008 and with such a full order book, that record is set to be broken again in 2014, when Maserati celebrates its 100th birthday," the company said in a statement."The demand for Maserati products worldwide is a spectacular vindication of the decision to invest 1.5 billion euros (about $2 billion) in the new range and a new state of the art factory to produce the Quattroporte and Ghibli so that the existing factory in Modena can concentrate on meeting the demand for Maserati sports cars."With yet another all-new Maserati model to come, the Maserati Levante, which will take the Italian car maker into the lucrative performance and luxury SUV market, Maserati is clearly on target to meet its goal of 50,000 sales worldwide by 2015."