Maserati CEO, Harald Wester, had some very strong and unkind words regarding electric cars at the 2013 Shanghai Motor Show.

"All this discussion about zero emissions is nonsense. Nobody talks about the efficiency of how the battery is charged. It varies strongly from region to region, depending on how the energy is produced, nuclear, coal and so on, but even the best is not ahead of the internal combustion engine," he said.

Wester's argument is based on data regarding power charging stations' efficiency at various parts of the world, which show that the average CO₂ emission of electric cars in Europe, US and China as 86g/km, 110g/km and 191g/km respectively.

"Diesel and CNG are the more obvious answers if CO₂ is the focus. Both are more viable answers than hybrid. If they gave us a CO₂ target instead of imposing technology then we would go that way. If we want a realistic solution to emissions then the regulators need to be more honest in how they calculate emissions. Electric cars are not the answer," Wester added.

However, Wester commented that the Italian brand may have to look into a hybrid system in the near future to meet fuel economy regulations.