Maserati Considers Reducing Its EVs' Charging Speed To Lower Weight, Cost

Slower home charging for a few dozen kilograms saved? Maserati would apparently say yes.

By: Andrei Nedelea

Jan 4, 2023 at 11:28am ET

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Maserati is months away from the official market debut of its first EV, the GranTurismo Folgore, which runs on an advanced 800-volt platform and supports fast charging at up to 270 kW. It also supports home charging at up to 22 kW, but it seems Maserati would happily sell a model that charge slowers, if it resulted in lighter vehicles.

According to this Autocar report that quotes Ana Paola Reginatto, who is Global Head of e-Mobility at Maserati, the manufacturer is considering offering its EVs with a slower home charger. At least that's what we think Reginatto is referring to, since she doesn't specifically mention any charging speeds; she is probably talking about the on-board AC charger when she says that

Today, we buy a car based on the range it might need once a year when we go on a long drive, and the space we might need in it once a year, when we pack for our holidays, for instance.

But that attitude towards excessive consumption - or at least buying the most we will ever need - is shifting. Think of the weight of an on-board charger: 40kg! We spend millions trying to engineer 40kg out of a car, so if we can shift attitudes towards slower charging, there are huge potential benefits.

The same report quotes Reginatto as saying that in the age of electrification, Maserati will have a harder time marketing its vehicles, as opposed to engineering them. She says that it’s already easier to make really quick EVs, easier than making comparable ICE vehicles today, and that the manufacturer expects that 60 percent of its future buyers, the ones who will buy a Maserati EV, will be completely new to the brand.

It also sounds like Maserati is currently trying to redefine its image as it moves towards electrification, given that characterful combustion engines have always played a large part in making its vehicles appealing. She said

But that performance is a basic expectation of a Maserati buyer. What’s critical is combining it with luxury, and in the case of the Maserati Grecale SUV, using it to form a vehicle that is in some ways exceptional to drive every single day. We need to get that message across.