Maserati is planning to double its UK dealer network as the luxury sports car brand plans to dramatically increase its sales volumes.

The brand currently has 13 dealers, mostly dual franchised with its Ferrari sister brand, but said it needs at least 26 to handle its future capacity with the late 2013 introduction of the Ghibli model, it’s first ever mid-sized four door saloon and ahead of next year’s launch of the Levante, its first foray into the SUV sector.

Maserati already has 530 orders for the Ghibli and expects to sell 1,000 by the end of the year. Last year it’s total sales were just 319 units. The brand has spent recent months signing up new partners as it moves to fill open points in major conurbations. Marshall Motor Group was the latest appointment with a refurbished solus site due to open in Peterborough in April.

Other recent appointments include Motorline in Maidstone, Kent; Park’s Motor Group in Glasgow; Charles Hurst in Belfast; and Bowker in Blackburn. David Aldcroft, dealer development manager, confirmed an appointment in Oxford is likely to be next, while the brand is keen to fill open points in Milton Keynes and south Manchester. He also said there is an opportunity for solus representation. “Historically we have been Maserati twinned with Ferrari. We have no desire to separate our representation [with Ferrari] but moving forward we are looking at solus dealers. In our world solus doesn’t mean a single building, we are quite happy to co-habit with any other brands, so long as we have our corporate identity and can give our customers the Maserati experience.”

original story taken from motor trader – http://www.motortrader.com/latest-news/maserati-double-uk-network/