Maserati Levante SUV to be built in Italy, not the U.S

According to khabar khodro، Chrysler will not build the Maserati SUV at its plant in Detroit as the demand for the Jeep Grand Cherokee is stronger.

The Maserati Levante will be built in Italy instead, and will be exported to the U.S. “Due to the high demand for the Grand Cherokee we reallocated the product to Italy,” Maserati CEO Harald Wester was quoted as saying by the Detroit Free Press at the North American International Auto Show.

The Levante is one of three models that Maserati is relying on as it aims to increase global sales from 6,300 in 2012 to 50,000 by 2015. The luxury SUV will be built on the same platform as the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Back in 2012, Chrysler and Fiat CEO Sergio Marchionne said the Maserati SUV will be built at the U.S. carmaker’s plant in Detroit and congratulated the workforce there for being capable of manufacturing a luxury SUV.

However, as the Detroit plant is running full capacity to meet demand for the Jeep Grand Cherokee and as Fiat is confronting an overcapacity problem in Italy, Marchionne decided to make the SUV in Europe so the company would not need to close its factory in Mirafiori.