An EV rival for the next Porsche 911 and Jaguar F-TYPE will be released in 2020, a Maserati executive has told Just-auto.com.

Speaking on the sidelines of the UK launch of the Levante SUV, Peter Denton, who is Region Manager for North Europe, said an electric version of the Alfieri sports car is planned.

When pressed for a release date, Denton said the variants with combustion engines would come first, followed by the BEV. This would be in "2019/2020, with the full electric in 2020" he believes.

Asked why a battery electric vehicle and not a PHEV, Maserati's man maintained that by the early part of the next decade, the taxation advantages for plug-in hybrids will most likely have been removed in many countries.

Of the Alfieri itself, Denton was keen to correct erroneous reports which have claimed that the car will be aimed at the successors to the Porsche 718 Cayman and 718 Boxster.

"Alfieri will be bigger than Boxster and Cayman. It is being designed as a competitor to the 911 but it will be a larger car. More the size of a Jaguar F-TYPE".

As for pricing, the Alfieri, which should be available as both a hatchback and convertible, would be priced "in that [F-TYPE] segment".