Luxury carmaker Maserati focuses production on Italy

MILAN (AP) — Luxury carmaker Maserati said Thursday it would invest 1.6 billion euros ($1.8 billion) as it boosts Italian production with a new super-sports car and a utility vehicle as well as the launch of a hybrid version of the successful Ghibli sedan.

Maserati, which is owned by Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, is counting on the key product launches for a turnaround after a tough few quarters marked by lower sales and dealer stock reductions. The 1.6 billion euros in investments is part of 5 billion euros that Fiat Chrysler announced for Italy last year for the years 2019-2021.

The hybrid Ghibli will begin production next year in the city of Turin. Maserati also confirmed plans to make a new super sports car in Modena, the brand's northern Italy headquarters, and a utility vehicle in Cassino, south of Rome. The sportscar will be unveiled in the first six months of next year, a spokesperson said.

Maserati said it is "reinforcing the importance of Italy" as its center of production. Investments of 800 million euros are earmarked for Cassino, where a new production line is set to open next year, and in Turin, where updated versions of the GrandTurismo and GranCabrio also will be produced.

In all, 10 production launches are planned between 2020 and 2023.

During a business plan announcement in June 2018, Maserati said it wanted to double sales to 100,000 units by 2022. No update has been given but deliveries slipped to 35,000 units in 2018, which Fiat Chrysler said was due to lower sales in China and other key markets.