Maserati says no to all-electric future, says U.S. chief

The future internal combustion remains questionable as automakers push for

electrification

. But not for

Maserati

, according to

a report from Motor Trend

on an investor call discussing first-quarter earnings. According to the outlet,

FCA

CEO Michael Manley and

Maserati

North America’s head honcho, Al Gardner, made it known on the call that

Maserati

does not have any plans to say goodbye to good ‘ol gasoline power. Rather, the company is planning to embrace electrification in different ways, such as

hybridization

.

“This is a brand that needs combustion engines. It needs that raw emotion,” Gardner told reporters at the conference. He also noted it’s important for the company to get “back to its roots,” citing the company’s start with race cars before offering consumer vehicles.

Maserati

‘s electrification will begin as part of its model line overhaul leading up to 2022 that is also supposed to help reverse Maserati’s slumping sales. Gardner noted that a new

sports car

will mark the start of the revamp, and we expect it will be a production version of the hotly anticipated and very sexy

Alfieri Concept car

. We may even

see the car at Geneva next year

. After that will be a new

crossover

smaller than the

Levante

, along with hybrid and

plug-in hybrid

variants with a few select

electric vehicles

.

Maserati won’t be the only automaker embracing electrification, as

Jaguar

,

Volkswagen

and

Porsche

are all pushing toward the new powertrain technology. Unlike Maserati, some of these brands are going all-in on

electric cars

. Volkswagen will release

its last new internal combustion engine in 2026

.

Volvo’s Polestar brand will only have pure EVs

after the Polestar 1 sports car.