Maserati is expected to unveil a concept SUV at next month's Frankfurt motor show, reports Automotive News Europe.
The concept will be followed in due course by a production model based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee. And by embracing SUVs to broaden its global sales base, Maserati will be breaking with a tradition of competition-focused automotive manufacturing dating back almost a century.
The information published by Automotive News came from an anonymous source who advised that Jeep will build the Maserati model on the same production line as the Grand Cherokee, at the company's Jefferson North assembly plant.
Automotive News suggests that Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne's strategy is to follow in the footsteps of the Volkswagen Audi Group, mixing volume-selling mainstream products and parts to assemble a range of high-end cars. Across Volkswagen and all its subsidiaries, Audi — that high-end brand — currently accrues 40 per cent of all revenue from less than 20 per cent of sales.
The Maserati offroader will position the company differently within the global market, while aiming also to replicate the success of Porsche's Cayenne. It's an opportunity for the low-volume brand (Maserati) to raise revenue and profit very rapidly in a short space of time, given the global SUV market has doubled in size since 2000 — and amortisation of the Jeep development work should take next to no time.
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