Maserati Ghibli jets in

Well-heeled Maserati fans are paying handsome air-freight costs to be among the first in Australia to get their hands on the new Ghibli, which has already attracted a five-month waiting list that stretches out to November.

Australian Maserati distributor European Automotive Imports won't say exactly how many have done so, but motoring.com.au understands about a dozen Ghiblis have already landed here since EAI announced pricing on May 7.

Of those, "a number" were air-freighted by early-adopters keen to jump the queue, at a cost that's equivalent to a first-class airline ticket to Europe, or between $12,000 and $20,000 depending on delivery speed.

That's at least double the cost of regular shipping -- either roll-on-roll-off or in a container – which is part of the purchase price. But it ensures delivery within a week rather than two months or so via sea freight, as was the case with the other Ghiblis imported for homologation or promotional purposes.

All local Maserati dealers now have at least one demonstration version of Maserati's cheapest and smallest sedan, and its first direct rival for premium versions of the BMW 5 Series and Mercedes-Benz E-Class.

Three Ghibli variants are now available to order ahead of the car's official launch in early August – 12 months later than planned, due to strong global demand – including the Ghibli Diesel (from $138,900), Ghibli ($139,990) and Ghibli S ($169,900).

So far the flagship Ghibli S has attracted the most demand, followed by the lower-output twin-turbo V6-powered Ghibli and the Ghibli Diesel, which is expected to be a volume-seller over the all-new large sedan's life cycle.

Including the new Quattroporte -- which arrived here in top-shelf GTS form in January, followed by the Quattroporte S in April and the Quattroporte Diesel later this month -- Maserati sold 35 sedans in Australia last month.

That compares to just one in May 2013 (the last previous-generation Quattroporte was imported in January 2013) and brings to 63 the number of Maserati sedans sold to May this year (up 530 per cent). Maserati has sold 108 cars so far in 2014 -- up 74 per cent.

Of course, those figures come from a low base, since Maserati essentially sold only the GranTurismo coupe and GranCabrio convertible here last year.

However, given Maserati expects to sell about 50 Ghiblis a month in Australia, including more air-freighted customer cars before launch, it will easily surpass its local sales record of 201 registrations in 2008.

As part of its plan to sell 50,000 vehicles globally by 2015, when it wall launch its first SUV, Maserati expects to find 1500 Australian customers in 2016 – more than seven times its annual sales record – when the Levante arrives here with the same three V6 engines as the Quattroporte and Ghibli.

In order to meet global demand, Maserati has added a Saturday shift to lift production by 20 per cent and fast-tracked production of the diesel Quattroporte and Ghibli. At its current running rate, it would sell 40,000 cars this year.

Nevertheless, such is the demand for Maserati's two new sedans that its 2014 sales figures will be dictated by supply.

Further afield, as revealed in the Fiat group's five-year business plan, Maserati will maintain its momentum by effectively releasing a new model every year this decade.

In 2016, Maserati will launch the two-seat Alfieri super-coupe, an upstream Porsche 911 rival priced close to $300,000, followed a year later by a convertible version in 2017.

After that in 2018 will come a replacement for the cheaper GranTurismo four-seater, which will be facelifted next year, followed by a new-generation GranCabrio in 2019.

By then Maserati hopes to find homes for 75,000 vehicles annually with a seven-model range – up from around just 7000 cars in 2010 and 15,300 last year.

If Australia's current contribution to global sales continues, EAI will match Porsche Cars Australia's current volumes with more than 2000 annual sales within five years.