Making its world debut at next month’s Geneva Motor show, the Levante brings the Italian carmaker’s range to five models and follows the Ghibli, launched in 2014, as a potential fleet offering. Expected to be Maserati's biggest-selling car, the brand says the SUV could account for nearly half of its volume in Europe.

Like the Ghibli, it will feature petrol and diesel engines, the latter including the 275hp V6 shared with its saloon cars. All models will feature four-wheel drive, with an eight-speed automatic transmission and electronically-controlled variable suspension damping.

Maserati reiterated that the Levante will be built at FCA's Mirafiori site in Turin Italy, with the first vehicles already having come off the production line.

Commenting on the outlook for the new model, Ian Fletcher of IHS Automotive said that compared to the Cayenne, Range Rover Sport, BMW X6 and Mercedes GLE Coupé, he sees Maserati's Levante as “being a relative minnow in the market place”.

He added: “We expect global sales of this vehicle to peak at around 17,000 upa. Nevertheless, its addition to the brand's range will be vital in further growing the visibility of the brand and go some way towards achieving the goals hoped for it by FCA. IHS Automotive anticipates that during 2017, this model will help contribute to lifting Maserati's global sales to 49,000 units and help it to stand at around this level until the end of the decade. If successful, it could also lead to a further broadening of the automaker's range of models to include a smaller premium SUV in the vein of the Porsche Macan.”