Even with TeslaMotors already leading the Electric Vehicle (EV) scene with its battery-powered Model S P100D, Italian luxury car brand Maserati is still looking to enter the market with its own EV model by 2020, but have no intentions of competing with Tesla.
According to TechCrunch, Maserati's Electric Vehicle won't be a direct competition to Tesla. Maserati is leaning towards having their EV more of a coupe with only two seats than a sedan which can generally accommodate five passengers.
Since Maserati is entering the Electric Vehicle market much later than other carmakers, it would need to offer something very different from its competitors as well as thinking how to bring Maserati's trademarks into the market.
Maserati's engineering lead Roberto Fedeli mentions in Engadget that making an Electric Vehicle that's exciting to drive is part of the challenge Maserati's facing. With the current weight of lithium-ion batteries installed in EVs, Maserati needs to find a way to make their car lighter.
Maserati cars have generally two trademarks: A loud engine, and a light weight body. But with the Electric Vehicle's quiet engine roar and heavy battery pack, car engineers of Maserati will have a tough challenge ahead of them to bring Maerati's trademark into their new EV model.
Teslamotors' Model S has 315 to 532 horse power and can carry up to 100 kWh Lithium Ion battery. The 90D series of the Model S has top speed of 155 mph and can accelerate to 60 miles per hour in 2.8 seconds.
European carmakers like BMW and Renault have already released their own line of Electronic Vehicles: BMW's i3 hatchback and Renault's ZOE hatchback. Even Asian carmakers like Nissan and Huyndai have their own line of EVs: the Nissan Leaf hatchback, and the Hyundai Ioniq hatchback.
