A great brand needs products that stand at the top of the pyramid and have a heritage and a story.
But economically, money tends to flow to people who are not short of money, but the number of people in this part is too small, and the products that can be sold to them are really limited. So when a great brand wants to be a money-making brand, all you need is a cheaper product with a brand logo.
And in China, nothing is more lethal than an entry-level SUV.
If Porsche only sold the 911, he would never have achieved what he has today in the Chinese market. In 2021, Porsche's global sales reached 301915 units, an increase of 11% over 2020, and China became Porsche's largest single car market, with annual sales growth of 8%, cumulative sales of 95,671 vehicles, accounting for about 30%, almost exceeding 100,000 units, if it were not for the chip shortage, this data would certainly not be stopped.
Behind the crazy sales growth, guess who carried the sales flag? Not the legendary 911, nor the 718 that brought Porsche back to life, but the Porsche Macan. In 2021, the cumulative sales volume of The Macan reached 88,362 units, accounting for 29.3%, and the sales volume was appropriate.
Lower entry space, higher ground clearance, coupled with Porsche's chassis tuning, even if it is called the shell Q5, even if there is no horizontal opposing engine, this does not affect its product status at Porsche, do not look down on Porsche, make money, not chill.
Contrary to the stereotypical and conservative German style, the unrestrained and enthusiastic Italians have also created many great brands, Ferrari, Lamborghini, Maserati, Alfa Romeo, etc., especially Maserati, I don't know when it began to become a "must-have for successful people" in micro-business and Internet celebrities.
With the trident mark that my grandmother, who is as old as I can see, and the sound wave that is more pleasant than the supercar, in the eyes of many little girls, the symbolism of the Neptune trident is half a level higher than that of the straight male Porsche from Zuvenhausen. Sitting in the Co-driver of the Porsche Cayenne, your identity will be regarded as a spiritual girl next to the local tycoon, and even sitting in the Maserati entry sedan Ghibli, the moment the door opens to the ground with high heels on the ground, you are Monica Bellucci in the eyes of the high-end hotel porter.
But even if it harvests the admiration of countless Chinese girls, in terms of sales and revenue, Maserati is still a younger brother than Porsche.
Italians seem to wake up from a hangover one day with an aura in their heads, yeah, why don't we build an SUV the size of Macan? Thus, a Maserati Grecale based on the Giorgio platform and similar in size to the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Luxury Edition SUV was born.
In fact, Maserati Grecale was originally scheduled to be released last November, but did not expect that Omi Kerong will revive the new crown epidemic, so that the global chip crisis continues to this day, considering the mass production schedule, Maserati postponed its release until March 22 this spring. However, since the so-called spy photos are officially released this time, the time node is basically solid and no longer postponed.
In the official revealed spy photos, the design of the new car is finally exposed, and Levante similar design style, the front face is still the iconic large straight waterfall grille, headlight shape is more three-dimensional than Levante, but I don't know if this level of SUV will use levante's same bezel-less door, if it is such a design, I think it will be more interesting than Macan.
Romantic Italians have buried a lot of foreshadowing on the body, pay close attention to the camouflage stickers on the side of the body, and you can find that the official has left a lot of Easter eggs through the stickers. Although the camouflage clothing is pasted with the words "I am Maserati Grecale, I can't tell you more", the latitude and longitude below represent the location of its birthplace, Cassino, Italy, and also includes the interior control screen, driver assistance system, sound system and rear space, etc., which means that the current appearance map is only a starter to hang everyone's appetite, and the highlights mentioned above will be revealed as a main dish for the chef.
A little relieved is that before the foreign media took spy photos, the new car is equipped with a large-size full-LCD dashboard, and with a three-spoke multi-function steering wheel and a large paddle shifter, the center console is equipped with a circular clock, the middle looks like a double multimedia display with a certain folding angle, the upper screen is used to display navigation and other entertainment information, and the lower screen is a functional touch area such as controlling air conditioning.
In addition, the center console of the new car also adopts the current popular through-channel air conditioning outlet design, which further enhances the fashion sense of the interior. It seems that Maserati's former "old" interior designers have finally retired, and the new young people have finally modernized the car.
At present, the powertrain information of the new car is still a mystery, but from the exhaust layout of the rear four out, the sporty performance of this car should not be too bad. Previously, Ghibli in order to save energy and reduce emissions, Came up with a set of 2.0T engines with good data, although the front of the car is lighter and less fuel consumption, but the sound of that car makes people feel desperate, a Maserati that does not sing, really thanks to the identity of this brand, I hope this kind of thing will not repeat itself on the Gregale, but from a walking point of view, Maserati is unlikely to be crammed into a 3.0T big heart in the ordinary version, and the greater probability is the same engine as the Stelvio, with a maximum horsepower of 280Ps and a peak torque of 400N M, match ZF's 8AT gearbox.
Rumors are that the car is planned to include an electric version as well as a performance version called the Trofeo, and the high-performance version will likely be the twin-turbo 3.0-liter V6 engine with the maximum horsepower of 621Ps on the Maserati MC20, which is absolutely unlikely to be personal, I think it is more likely that the 2.9L V6 engine on the Alfa Romeo Stelvio Quadrifoglio, that engine has a maximum horsepower of 502Ps, and it is also very fierce.
Urus has become lamborghini's most profitable model, Rolls-Royce launched Cullinan, even Ferrari's SUV is on the road, SUV has become a small blue pill for the data growth of super luxury brands, Grecale hurry up, whether Maserati can open twice in the Chinese market, it depends on you.