Maserati Just Canceled the All-Electric Supercar It Spent the Last 5 Years Developing

The all-electric Maserati MC20 Folgore all-electric supercar was first announced in 2020, with Maserati promising as late as last year that the battery-powered MC20 was still on its way for this year. But on Friday, Maserati confirmed it had canceled the MC20 Folgore because of weak demand, eliminating what promised to be an exciting EV in Maserati’s future lineup.

The MC20 Folgore had been planned with three electric motors producing 700 horsepower. It was set to sit on top of a range of Maserati EVs, from the GranTurismo Folgore, Maserati’s all-electric grand tourer; the Grecale Folgore, its all-electric SUV; and the GranCabrio Folgore, its all-electric convertible. Maserati had hailed these cars and the MC20 Folgore as the brand’s “new electric dimension” that was, “ready to dominate and represent the Brand’s future around the world.”

Now that future won’t include the MC20 Folgore, which was to be the marque’s finest electric expression. Maserati said in a statement to Car and Driver that the car had been canceled because of, “a perceived lack of commercial interest.”

The statement went on: “Market studies for the super sports car segment and especially for MC20 customers has demonstrated that they are very keen on driving powerful ICE engines… [they] are not ready to switch to BEVs for the foreseeable future.”

Instead, Maserati will be focused on refreshing the internal combustion engine MC20, which makes 621 horsepower from its 3.0-liter V-6 engine. That refresh might include 10 additional horsepower, which Maserati was able to coax out of the engine in its GT2 Stradale, according to Autocar.

The cancellation of the MC20 Folgore portends possibly dark things for a planned electric version of Maserati’s Levante SUV, and dark things for Maserati’s plan to go all-electric with every model in its lineup by 2030. Maserati had even said that its entire lineup would be electrified—battery electric or hybrid — by 2028.

The MC20 Folgore’s cancellation was perhaps foreshadowed earlier this year when, Stellantis, Maserati’s owner, wrote off a $1.6 billion investment in the brand, much of which was spent on developing new EVs. Sales in China were also slow, suggesting that Maserati is in the midst of weathering a storm that will require more than just canceling an all-electric supercar.