When is a Maserati not a Maserati?
When it's an electric or hybrid vehicle, Maserati North America says.
Or tried to say.
Among other proposed changes to its franchise agreement, Maserati North America wanted to reserve the right to eliminate electric and hybrid-electric vehicles from the definition of Maserati vehicles, thus potentially allowing the automaker to withhold those vehicles from its current franchised dealerships.
But a New York administrative judge, ruling on a lawsuit filed by Wide World Maserati of Spring Valley, N.Y., said that change was one of several that were "unfair" under state law.
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO Sergio Marchionne has said that by 2019, all Maserati vehicles would be either electric or hybrid.
The manager of Maserati North America's dealer network operations testified that there are no new electric or hybrid vehicles in the planning stage for Maserati, but Administrative Law Judge Walter Zulkoski noted in his decision that Maserati North America's own website indicates that's not the case.
