MASERATI Australia expects the launch of its first SUV to double its sales within a year and enhance its existing dealer network with significant upgrades while also adding one new premises.

It is thought that the leap in sales will put pressure on the existing seven Australian dealers and the company’s chief operating officer Glen Sealey told GoAutoNews Premium that anticipated growth had been precisely planned.

Maserati was selling just 60 cars a year in 2000 but, by 2015, it surpassed 500 cars, totalling 519 in that year. So far in 2016, Maserati has sold 233 units to the end of May.

Mr Sealey said: “We expect to sell 1000 units in Australia and New Zealand for the full calendar 2017 year.” (NZ accounts for about 10 per cent of total volume).

The Levante – Maserati’s first SUV – will change the face of Maserati around the world, he said.

Closer to home, Maserati will increase its dealership numbers to eight with a greenfield site planned for south-east Queensland that is expected to be in operation in early 2017.

“Dealers have not had a problem embracing the move into SUVs,” Mr Sealey said.

“This has been a long time coming. Dealers see increased sales and a new customer audience with the Levante. I haven’t had to convince any one of our dealers about Levante. They can see the future of the product.”

Mr Sealey said the SUV has been the catalyst for dealership activity.

“Our Brisbane dealer (Willims Motor Group) installed an all-new facility for Maserati-Ferrari in 2006,” he said.

“Last year, they created a single facility for Maserati in one of the most expensive pieces of real estate in Brisbane.

“In Sydney, McCarrolls opened the city’s first stand-alone Maserati dealership in 2014. It has also gutted its Waterloo premises to improve the showroom for Maserati. The investment by the McCarroll family is significant.

“Zagame in Melbourne fully refurbished its showroom last year and has created a world-best building in the city’s west. It now has two showrooms.

“Our South Australian dealer built a dedicated showroom in late 2014-early 2015 and Perth (Barbagallo) is soon to open a new showroom.”

The next dealership will be on the Gold Coast and is expected to be in operation by the end of the first quarter 2017 – but Mr Sealey is yet to appoint a dealer.

“No, we don’t have a dealer yet,” he said. “We are looking at existing Maserati dealers to add this site but have yet to make a decision. We have to ensure that there is an adequate return on investment for the new showroom.’’

Asked if the distributor would take the dealership on, as it has in previous years before selling them off to independent dealers, Mr Sealey said that would be unlikely.

“We would only look at becoming involved when no-one else was prepared to do it,” he said. “Our preference now is for private operators who work the dealership every day as a retail business.”

Mr Sealey said all dealerships have now completed training on the Levante, including a two-day workshop held recently by Italian technicians who flew in from Italy.

“Training is the key,” he said. “We have a lot of new people – technicians and sales and from other areas – coming to the brand and to the Levante.

“We have all had to learn new things. For example, selling SUV-related accessories such as tow bars and bicycle carriers and roof pods and then training people to fit these items. It gets very expensive.”

In comparing the Levante with others in its class – particularly the Range Rover Sport and Porsche Cayenne – Mr Sealey said one point of difference was the servicing.

“We think we have the lowest service costs compared with our rivals,” he said.

“We also have a pre-paid service program that is factory designed and backed – not from an independent service provider.

“Buyers can opt for an extended, five-year warranty and cover for the drivetrain for up to eight years – all from the factory.

“So in addition to what we think is a very exclusive SUV, it has a lot of features designed to make ownership easier and cheaper.”

The Maserati Levante will go on sale in Australia in early 2017 and already has a waiting list.

It is priced from $139,990 plus on-road costs, adding $20,000 for the Luxury or Sport versions. Expected sales of 500-600 in 2017 will be skewed to the base and Sport variants, with 40 per cent each.

Maserati will also offer a limited-edition Zegna variant with upmarket equipment including silk and leather upholstery, but there is no timing or price on this version.

Mr Sealey said the SUV will account for 55 per cent of Maserati sales in Australia and New Zealand next year, compared with eight per cent for the Quattroporte flagship sedan, 32 per cent for the Ghibli (which now accounts for 80 per cent of all Maserati sales) and five per cent for the GranTurismo coupe and convertible.

The Levante will only be available with a 202kW/600Nm 3.0-litre V6 turbo-diesel engine paired with an eight-speed automatic transmission. Mr Sealey said he would like a petrol option but 89 per cent of the

Australian SUV segment is diesel powered.

In addition, he indicated that Maserati is yet to make a right-hand-drive petrol Levante and that petrol models were primarily aimed at the US and Chinese markets.

By Neil Dowling