A MASERATI as a company car? You’d better believe it.
The Italian car maker has decided to bite the bullet and make the move into the diesel car market for the first time. The company car park could be set for an interesting make-over.
The new Maserati Ghibli will be on sale by the end of next year and will go head to head to with the likes of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.
Previous Ghibli models were sporty two-door cars but the new model – available with both diesel and petrol engines – will be a spacious saloon, slotting into the range below the flagship Quattroporte.
The decision to go diesel and try to grab at least a small slice of the company car market is part of Maserati’s grand plan to boost sales from the current 6,000 per year to 50,000 in the next three years.
The new diesel model will be powered by a 3.0-litre V6 engine and the company expects that up to 80 per cent of sales will be the diesel version as business men and women looking for something different opt for a sprinkling of Italian design flair for the first time.
A second diesel engined car will join the Maserati stable in 2014 when the company unveils the Levante, its new all-wheel-drive SUV, based on the Jeep Grand Cherokee.
