Last week, news broke that Ferrari was plotting a third assembly line in Maranello dedicated entirely to EV production. But this turned out to be little more than a preamble for the obligatory announcement that the company would eventually transition toward building electric vehicles.
On Thursday, the Italian automaker told investors that all-electric and hybrid models will make up 80 percent of its global sales volume by 2030. This is to be done via a slew of new products it hopes to launch between now and 2026. Though the first Ferrari to run exclusively on battery power isn’t scheduled to arrive until 2025. According to the manufacturer, it’s plotting to launch 15 new vehicles as part of the overarching strategy. While some of those will undoubtedly be duplicates boasting open-air cockpits and slightly different powertrains, it has still got to be some kind of record for the brand.
That said, it looks as though Ferrari expects the hybrid models to do the heavy lifting until European and Chinese mandates force its hand. The company expects its upcoming fully electric cars to account for just 5 percent of its sales initially. However, it’s targeting battery electric vehicles (BEVs) to be roughly 40 percent of its volume by 2030. Hybrid models are assumed to have an inverse trajectory, starting at 55 percent in 2025 (a sizable increase from the 20 percent witnessed in 2021) before matching its purely electric products’ 40 percent in 2030.
“We believe we can use the electric engine to enhance the performance of our cars,” CEO Benedetto Vigna told investors.
There’s certainly reason to believe they can. Most of the brand’s fastest-accelerating cars already use some form of hybridization. The LaFerrari utilized a 6.3-liter V12 MHEV (mild hybrid) to slap 60 mph in just 2.5 seconds and the SF90’s 4.0-liter V8 Bi-Turbo PHEV (plug-in hybrid) manages the same thanks in part to its trio of electric motors.
Ferrari said it’s planning to invest 4.4 billion euros ($4.58 billion) by 2026 with a strong emphasis on vehicle development. Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) are presumed to rest between 2.5 billion and 2.7 billion euros by then. Electric motors will be built in-house, along with the necessary battery modules. Production and subsequent vehicle assembly will take place at the expanded assembly facility in Maranello, Italy. But Vigna said that some of the “non-core components” will need to be outsourced.
Considering former CEO Louis Camilleri had stated Ferrari would never go all-electric in 2020, adding that he couldn’t even see 50 percent electrification within his lifetime, this represents a seismic change for a brand that literally trades on combustion noises and motorized excess. But Camilleri abandoned ship not long after making those comments, handing the reigns to chairman John Elkann — who has been much more welcoming of EVs.
Elkann told investors he believed electrification would allow the brand to produce “make even more unique cars” than it had in the past. Though he vowed that they would all be “distinctively Ferrari.”
[Image: Veyron Photo/Shutterstock]
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