While other automakers have either flirted with or thrown themselves fully into electric vehicles, Ferrari has been patient. Even Rolls-Royce has one now. Although the storied Italian make is no stranger to electrification in general—the LaFerrari, SF90, and 296 GTB are a few examples—it’s yet to launch a car without piston power. However, there’s a first time for everything, and Ferrari will supposedly break its EV abstinence next year with a $535,000 model, according to Reuters.
In three to four months, Ferrari will be opening a new plant in Maranello that will manufacture the forthcoming EV, according to Reuters‘ sources. It’s estimated that 14,000 cars left Maranello in 2023, but this new factory should bump production capacity to around 20,000 cars annually. And the company is going to need that extra capacity, as increased model lines will only lengthen Ferrari’s already two-year-long wait list. Don’t expect that lift in production to hurt the brand’s exclusive reputation, though.
Ferrari
“There is an increasing demand out there for Ferraris, and they have room to meet part of it without compromising exclusivity,” Fabio Caldato, a portfolio manager at Ferrari shareholder AcomeA SGR, told Reuters.
Interestingly, this report also claims that Ferrari is already working on a second EV. We don’t even know what sort of car Ferrari’s first EV will be, so it’s impossible to guess at the second. The Prancing Horse of course only recently launched its first SUV in history, the Purosangue, though perhaps an EV presents a viable way to get to two.
An all-electric supercar, however, would put Maranello’s beloved brand in rare territory, as it would be the only one of its major competitors to offer such a product. McLaren only has a hybrid, Lamborghini is working on one, and Bugatti is about to launch a hybrid today. None have fully electric, dedicated performance coupes just yet. At $535,000, this electric Ferrari will be among the most expensive models in its lineup, with only the SF90 being pricier.
That high price tag and electric powertrain will likely make it one of the brand’s lower-volume vehicles, as Mediobanca analyst Andrea Balloni says he expects “the new EV to be a niche model, accounting for just over 10% of annual sales.” Ferrari intentionally caps its production numbers to maintain exclusivity and, even with two new EVs and a new facility, don’t expect more than 20,000 Ferraris to roll off the line per year.
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