Maserati has settled on two battery-electric vehicles for its partnership with Huawei and JAC, a large grand tourer and a mid-to-large SUV, with the bodies to be built in China and the cars finished in Italy, the Chinese outlet 36Kr reported on Thursday.
The report, citing multiple industry sources, is the first to describe what the partnership would produce.
Talks between Stellantis, Huawei and JAC over Maserati were reported by Milano Finanza in May and confirmed by Reuters in September, but no product had been named until now.
Neither Stellantis nor Huawei nor JAC has confirmed the plans. Stellantis has said only that it holds discussions with industry players around the world in the normal course of business.
Which Comes First
The two cars would take different roles. The sport utility vehicle would sit alongside the Grecale Folgore, Maserati’s first electric SUV. The grand tourer would support the GranTurismo Folgore, its electric two-door, and reinforce the brand’s sporting identity.
“But internally the current preference is for the first car to be the electric GT, not the SUV first,” a person with knowledge of the matter told the outlet.
That is the less obvious sequence for a brand that shipped fewer than 8,000 cars in 2025 and needs volume. It is also where Maserati’s electric engineering is concentrated.
The GranTurismo Folgore runs an 800-volt architecture with three motors and a T-shaped battery pack that preserves a low seating position, while the Grecale Folgore is a 400-volt vehicle on group hardware.
Bodied in China, Finished in Italy
For export, Maserati plans a semi-knocked-down arrangement, the report said. The body-in-white would be produced at the JAC plant in Hefei that builds the Maextro S800, and Italian plants would fit the interior and carry out calibration and finishing.
A person close to the project said the approach saves cost while preserving what they called Maserati’s luxury narrative, and that the brand hopes to use the programme to revive production at its Cassino and Modena plants.
That would reverse the commitment on which Maserati’s electrification plan was built. In January 2024, then-Chief Executive Officer Davide Grasso said every Folgore model would be “100% designed, developed and manufactured in Italy.”
The two cars 36Kr describes also fill the two slots in that plan that were never delivered. Grasso set out a large electric sport utility vehicle for 2027 and a fully electric Quattroporte for 2028.
Both slipped after Stellantis wrote down its Maserati electrification investment and the brand’s sales fell by about 70% in two years.
Where They Would Go First
“The Middle East market and Italy, France and Germany will be the first stop,” the person close to the project said.
The United States and Britain, both established Maserati markets, are not on the list.
The cars would be sold as Maextro, the luxury brand Huawei and JAC launched with the S800 saloon, in China, and under the Maserati badge overseas. Maserati has more decision-making power over overseas channels, the same person said.
The Structure
The division of roles reported by 36Kr matches earlier accounts. Huawei supplies its Harmony Intelligent Mobility platform, including the cockpit, its Qiankun driver-assistance system and electric drive technology.
JAC handles vehicle engineering and manufacturing. Maserati contributes design and its distribution network outside China.
Corriere della Sera reported on September 10 that Maserati would keep control of brand identity, design and product positioning. Milano Finanza has put the first jointly developed model in production in the second half of 2027.
Under Pressure
Maserati shipped fewer than 8,000 cars in 2025, down more than 80% from a 2017 peak of about 51,500 and the lowest in more than a decade. Its adjusted operating loss was €198 million ($232 million), a margin of minus 27.3%.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa told Italian parliamentarians in June that the group was evaluating two potential partners for Maserati and would not sell the brand. He has said a Maserati deal would lift output at Cassino and Modena.
Santo Ficili, who runs Maserati, has said the brand cannot force customers from combustion to electric and that an electric-only line-up is no longer the plan. Maserati is due to present its strategy at an investor day in Modena in December.
