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Ridgeway Group has added the Maserati franchise to its portfolio and will open a new dealership for the brand at its Cumnor Hill site.

Ridgeway will build a new four car showroom and workshop for Maserati. The group will operate from a temporary showroom while waiting for the new build to be ready.

John O’Hanlon, Ridgeway chief executive, said: “This new relationship with Maserati, in their 100 year centenary, is the perfect fit for Ridgeway.

“Maserati’s new model announcements will result in significant growth in volume and build on the brand’s widening appeal.”

Maserati now has 19 dealers across the UK, with six new appointments in the last nine months as the brand looks to build on volumes. The brand now has a four car model range with the Ghibli, Quattroporte, Granturismo and Grancabrio.

Maserati UK wants to expand its dealer network to as many as 30 sites as sales grow.

The expansion comes as Maserati has launched its Ghibli range, which inludes a V6 turbodiesel variant, priced £48,830, that it wants to compete against cars such as Audi's A7 and Mercedes-Benz's CLS.

The Ghibli diesel is Maserati's most accessible, or affordable, prestige car yet.

The turbodiesel engine is also now available in its larger Quattroporte model, to help it compete against a Mercedes S-Class, BMW 7 Series and Audi A8, and an SUV is due to be launched in 2015.

David Aldcroft, dealer development manager for Maserati North Europe, said the brand aims to put a dealership within 50 minutes travelling time of its target customers with high incomes.

Key open points to fill include Milton Keynes, one to the east of London, one to the south of Manchester and some on the south coast of England.

The minimum standards include a solus, enclosed four-car showroom, although this may be next to another brand, workshop facilities, dedicated customer-facing and technical staff and high levels of service delivery, but it can be overseen by a general manager responsible for another brand.

"Having the right profile and mix in their business is very important to us. We want dealers to have the ability to make some quite significant decisions with the operation.

"We want them to care for the business as if it was their only business, and look after customers in a unique way," said Aldcroft, who worked at Audi and Harley Davidson prior to joining Maserati 18 months ago.