NewMaserati tweaks model meant to reverse falling sales of Italian brand

As competitors gear up to put on display new luxury SUVs at the Frankfurt car show, Maserati is keeping its fans waiting a little longer as it makes final tweaks to a model meant to reverse falling sales of the Italian brand.

Bentley's Bentayga and Jaguar's F-Pace will be shown in Frankfurt and deliveries of Tesla's electric Model X are due to start in two weeks.

The love affair with SUVs and their higher ground clearance have also prompted Lamborghini, Aston Martin and Rolls-Royce to seek to compete in the popular segment.

Forecaster IHS Automotive expects global sales of premium and luxury SUVs to grow by more than 40 per cent to 1.4 million vehicles between 2008 and 2018. Overall SUV sales are expected to triple to more than 25 million over that period.

"With [petrol] prices low, it's a good time to launch an SUV … my only concern is that Maserati may get lost in the clutter because there are so many luxury crossovers coming out at the same time," said Lincoln Merrihew, an industry consultant at Millward Brown Digital.

Set for a launch this year, the Maserati Levante SUV is now expected to debut by the end of the first quarter next year, most likely at the Geneva car show in March.