24/06/2024 – 14:32 GMT+2
Ferrari’s first electric car will cost at least €500,000, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters.
ADVERTISEMENTThe news, unconfirmed by Ferrari, comes as the luxury carmaker prepares to inaugurate a new production site in Maranello, Northern Italy, on Friday.
Based in the town where the firm began making cars, the plant could boost group production by up to a third.
The floated figure for an electric Ferrari is well above the average sale price for other vehicles made by the manufacturer.
This cost doesn’t include extras which typically add 15 to 20%.
At the start of this year, the average price of a Ferrari was €350,000, including bonus features and personal touches.
To compare this with other manufacturers, Porsche’s less exclusive electric Taycan car starts at around €100,000.
Exclusivity is at the heart of Ferrari’s brand, with fewer than 14,000 cars delivered last year.
Increasing production capacity is therefore a bold move for the company, although many believe that the hefty price tags will allow Ferrari to maintain its elite status.
Waiting lists for some models are currently more than two years. For some, a place on these lists is a status symbol in itself.
According to a Reuters’ source familiar with the matter, Ferrari’s new plant will allow it to eventually increase output to around 20,000 vehicles per year.
Any rise in output, however, would reportedly come with an increase in models, ensuring that limits remain on the number of certain cars sold.
Petrol, hybrid and EV cars will be made at the site in Maranello, with the new plant being operational in three to four months, the source said.
In April, CEO Benedetto Vigna told Ferrari shareholders that the “state of the art plant will assure us of flexibility and technical capacity in excess of our needs for years to come”.
A second Ferrari EV model is also in the works, the source added, albeit at an early development stage.
Ferrari is forecasting that approximately 60% of its offer will be electric or hybrid cars by 2026.
ADVERTISEMENTAlthough EVs are generally silent, Ferrari engineers are developing “sound signatures” which will emulate those produced by its famous combustion engines.
“When we talk about luxury cars like our cars, we are talking about the emotion that we are able to deliver to our client, so we are not talking about functional cars like other EVs that you see on the road,” Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna told CNBC earlier this year.
“We have no doubt, honestly, that we can deliver a unique experience to our client because we can harness the technology in a unique way. That’s what our company has been doing since the beginning.”
In its first-quarter report released in May, Ferrari announced that its core earnings rose 13% from January to March.
ADVERTISEMENTThis was boosted by sales of models such as the Daytona SP3 car and greater earnings from personalised vehicles.
Shipments fell by a dramatic 20% in the China, Hong Kong and Taiwan region, although this market only accounts for roughly 10% of total unit sales.
