Ferrari Purosangue SUV car key.
Adam Jeffery | CNBC
by Ferrari The first electric car will cost at least $535,000, a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the luxury carmaker prepares to open a factory to produce the model – and can boost group output by up to one-third.
The Italian brand, famous for its roaring petrol engines, says it will launch an electric car late next year and the expected price shows it believes super-rich drivers are ready for it, even as mass-market rivals are cutting corners on electric vehicles. price in the context of slowing demand.
The price tag, excluding features and personal touches that typically add 15-20%, is well above the average selling price of about $376,000, including extras, for a Ferrari in the quarter. This year’s first and many luxury rivals. Tram.
In a less exclusive segment, by Porsche The electric Taycan starts at about $107,500.
Ferrari did not respond to a request for comment on the price of its first electric car or the new factory set to open in its hometown of Maranello, northern Italy, on Friday.
Factory – or Electronic building – is a bold move for the company, which delivered fewer than 14,000 vehicles last year, as it will eventually allow production capacity to increase to around 20,000, said the anonymous source.
Exclusivity reinforces the brand’s cachet as does its high price, so any increase in output comes with risks.
However, Ferrari has proven with the Purosangue SUV, due in 2022, that it can find success expanding beyond traditional two-seat sports cars and large touring cars.
Fabio Caldato, portfolio manager at AcomeA SGR, which holds Ferrari shares, said: “Demand for Ferrari is growing and they have the ability to meet part of that demand without affecting exclusivity”.
Waiting lists for some models can be up to two years.
“That doesn’t get any shorter,” Caldato said. Being on a waiting list is a status symbol in itself,” he said, noting that the pool of potential wealthy customers in emerging markets like India and the Middle East is growing.
Second electric car model
The new factory in Maranello will provide Ferrari with an additional vehicle assembly line, and will produce gasoline and hybrid cars as well as new electric vehicles, along with components for hybrid and electric vehicles.
It will be fully operational within three to four months, sources said.
A second electric vehicle model is also under development, the source said, adding the process is in the early stages and the company may not want to increase total production to 20,000 vehicles per year, at least not yet. short time.
Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna told Ferrari shareholders in April that “the state-of-the-art factory will guarantee us flexibility and technical capacity that will exceed our needs for many years to come”.
Any increase in production will be accompanied by an increase in model numbers, the source said, as Ferrari will adhere to a policy of keeping output for any given model within a certain limit. , no matter how successful.
Rival Lamborghini plans to start selling its first electric car in 2028. Its chief executive, Stephan Winkelmann, told Reuters that having the right product is more important than being first.
Mediobanca analyst Andrea Balloni said he expects Ferrari’s new electric car to have a premium price to help maintain profit margins, offset the growth of new all-electric technology and volume. Larger components are supplied from outside.
“I expect the new electric car will be a niche model, accounting for just over 10% of annual sales,” Balloni said, adding that Ferrari’s core customers still prefer gasoline models.
