Maserati SUV to attract "many, many women"

Maserati and Alfa Romeo CEO, Harald Wester, makes no apologies for jumping on the SUV bandwagon with its new Levante, which made its US debut at the New York motor show this week.

In fact, the German-born car czar insists Maserati's first SUV will attract a much younger audience to the historic Italian sports car brand, and "Yes, and many, many women."

He clarified that his prediction was not based on hard data but his professional view of the market.

"No, I'm just watching. If you just drive around in Europe in the US and in China, you see many, many women driving these cars.

"I don’t know why females like this car, [but] I have an idea," he said.

"If you talk to SUV customers they will predominantly give you five rationales. Towing capacity, passenger seating, all this stuff. But at the end of the day, they love the car, they desire it, they want it, they fall in love with the machine for whatever reason."

"This car will become our best-seller," he stated, confirming the company's desire to attain 75,000 annual sales by 2018.

When the Porsche Cayenne SUV surfaced in 2002, die-hard fans cried foul, saying the vehicle was a pox on the Porsche pedigree. However, the SUV has gone on to become one of Porsche's best-selling models, while Macan – its second, smaller SUV – looks likely to repeat its success.

Wester says SUVs are a credit – not a hindrance – to sports and luxury brands, but has previously ruled out a smaller SUV than the Levante.

However, his stance on the possibility of more Maserati SUVs appears to have softened.

"I don't want to anticipate anything. We have to watch how the market evolves. I mean, SUVs, it's just another body type for a car.

"Do me a favour, stop to understand this is not a mortal sin [to make an SUV].

"The question is not whether we will do a second or a third SUV – which is not something we'll discuss now – the question is how will the taste of our customers evolve?"

The Maserati and Alfa Romeo chief bristled when asked if Maserati's future would have been murky without an SUV.

"Why should I make philosophical comments on hypothetical questions? Would Maserati be a viable brand without an SUV?" he asked.

"It's there. We're going to sell it. It's 50 per cent of the market," he said of SUVs, which now account for almost one in every two prestige cars sold.

"As long as the car, the styling, the performance, how it drives, how it smells, how it handles, is 100 per cent Maserati, there is no problem at all. That's my position."