Looks like Maserati is finally giving in under the sheer weight of the emission regulations and planning a whole range of new hybrid models in order to meet them. The Italian company’s top brass has made it clear they are not happy about this, but they have no choice.

That doesn’t mean they are going to build hybrids in a disinterested way and end up with a bunch of crappy cars that won’t work properly. It’s just that Maser’s boss believes electric and hybrid cars are not as green as the general public thinks them to be. He argues that if you add up the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere producing, powering, and disposing an EV, it is a much bigger number than a petrol powered car makes in its lifetime.

So starting with the new Levante SUV, Maserati will be offering a range of plug-in hybrid powertrain which will be extended, by 2020, to the whole lineup including Quattroporte, GranTurismo, GranCabrio and Ghibli, as well as the upcoming Alfieri sports car. That’s not a bad thing really, especially as Giulio Pastore, Maserati’s European general manager, promises that whenever hybridization results in sacrificing performance, they just won’t do it.

Via Autocar