Maserati is planning to make EVs more affordable. Here is how

At a time when global auto manufacturers are racing to make their electric cars chargeable as fast as they can, the Italian luxury car marquee Maserati is taking the opposite route. Maserati is planning to lower the charging speed of its electric cars. This strategy is claimed to help the automaker to keep its EVs lightweight. Also, this would help reduce the cost of its electric cars, claims the automaker. Interestingly, this revelation comes months before the official market debut of its first electric car, the GranTurismo Folgore, which runs on an advanced 800-volt platform and supports fast charging at up to 270 kW.

Autocar UK reports that the car brand would happily sell an electric car that doesn't fast charge. The report cited Ana Paola Reginatto, global head of e-Mobility at Maserati, saying that fast charging capability adds unnecessary weight to an electric vehicle making its handling and performance dull. She reportedly said that since most cars spend a larger time standing still than on the move, that time can be utilized for slow charging.

Reginatto also emphasised that selling EVs with no fast charging capability would make them not only lightweight, which has a lot of benefits, but also cheaper and simpler to manufacture. “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 onboard 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," she added.

From Reginatto's comment, it is clear that Maserati aims to focus on the performance and overall driving experience its electric vehicles will offer rather than some eye-catching feature like fast charging that is not as practical in real life as it sounds. She said that performance is a basic expectation of a Maserati buyer, and it is crucial to combine it with luxury. The Maserati official further added that this is exactly the same as the automaker has done with the Grecale SUV.