MILAN -- Stellantis' luxury brand Maserati said the launch of its new SUV Grecale would be delayed to the spring of next year due to a global chip shortage.
A global premiere for the new model, which will be built in Cassino, Italy, was initially scheduled for Nov. 16.
"Due to a semiconductor scarcity, production amounts would not allow to adequately respond to expected global demand," Maserati said in a statement on Monday.
The Grecale will be positioned below the Maserati Levante and will compete with SUVs such as the Porsche Macan and BMW X3.
It will be underpinned by parent Stellantis' Giorgio platform, currently used for the Alfa Romeo Stelvio, and it's expected to have a full-electric version.
Stellantis this month said it would present the Tonale, a new Alfa Romeo SUV, next March after it had been expected at the end of this year.
Stellantis, formed this year though the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group, has halted production at several plants, including in Europe and Canada, due to the chip shortage. It has forecast it will produce 1.4 million fewer vehicles this year.
The FIM-CISL union has said the impact of a semiconductor shortage on Stellantis' Italian production this year will be worse and longer-lasting than the damage to output caused by the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020.
