A global shortage of microchips has left car dealerships with fewer cars to sell. It has left cars with fewer features. Now, it’s delaying the arrival of new cars.
Maserati Grecale Delayed
Maserati has pushed back the debut of its upcoming Grecale luxury SUV.
“The Global Premiere of Grecale, originally scheduled for November 16th of this year, has been postponed to spring 2022,” the company announced today.
“Due to the shortage of semiconductors, the quantity of production would not allow us to respond properly to the expected global demand,” Maserati explains.
The Grecale is a compact luxury SUV slotting below the Levante in the Maserati lineup. Maserati says the Grecale will feature “ground-breaking content, particularly in the connectivity and human-machine interface areas,” but has kept details closely guarded.
We expect it to ride on the same platform as the Alfa Romeo Stelvio. The two Italian marques share a parent company, Stellantis. But, to be worthy of the Maserati name, it will probably carry a retuned version of the 505-horsepower twin-turbo V6 that powers that car’s most athletic model, the Quadrifoglio.
We’ll know more in the spring.
Alfa Romeo Tonale Delayed, Too
Alfa Romeo, meanwhile, announced its own microchip-shortage-related delay today. The Alfa Romeo Tonale will now debut no earlier than next March. The Tonale is a subcompact SUV sharing its architecture with the Fiat 500X. Alfa Romeo originally planned to release it before the end of 2021.
