Maserati Targets Electric Future

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV’s Maserati unit plans to launch its first electrified vehicles before the end of the decade and expects half its sales will come from such models by 2022.

CEO Sergio Marchionne says Maserati will “effectively switch” all future models to some form of electrification after 2019. The strategy is expected to include both hybrid and full-electric vehicles. Volvo Car Corp. announced a similar goal earlier this month.

Marchionne, who was speaking on a conference call yesterday about FCA’s second-quarter financial results, suggests the company’s other brands will add more hybrid and electric models too. He notes the industry’s move away from diesel-powered vehicles is making electrification “mandatory” to meet future emissions and fuel economy requirements.

This is a sharp U-turn for Marchionne, who has repeatedly questioned the viability and demand for EVs. In 2014, he joked about the company’s Fiat 500e EV, telling people not to buy the car because it was a money-loser for FCA.