Maserati: 'Quality matches our rivals'

Maserati claims it is now producing cars with the quality to match any of its German competitors.

The claim follows an audit Maserati did with the respected quality monitoring company JD Power and Associates in America last year.

The number of reported faults is now less than one per car, which compares to the rate achieved by rival brands, says quality director Fausto Novello.

Every car the company builds at its factory in Modena is taken out for a test drive of at least 30 miles by one of a team of 24 drivers, and if any faults are found they are rectified and the car is taken out again.

Novello, who has worked for BMW and Fiat in the past, hopes that in future even longer night-time test drives will become part of the routine for a selected number of cars.

'This kind of quality control is a saving,' he said. 'We are an Italian company, but 90% of our sales are overseas and we have to match international standards.

'We do not benchmark individual competitors, but components and systems, and we believe our quality is now on the same ratio as anyone else's.'