MILAN: Ferrari says most or all of its cars will be “hybridised” from 2019, meaning they’ll have both combustion engines and electric motors.
But its CEO Sergio Marchionne said that building a fully-electric Ferrari would be “almost obscene”, because electric cars are too quiet.
Marchionne’s no fool. His customers – many of whom own more than one Ferrari – doubtless feel exactly the same way. The trouble is, even the tastes of old, rich folks change. The Blackberry was indispensable until it wasn’t.
Because Ferrari sells fewer than 10,000 cars a year it doesn’t have to comply with the same tough emissions rules as bigger carmakers such as BMW. But that doesn’t mean electrification isn’t a threat.
The combustion engine has already lost one advantage over electric cars: speed. An upgraded Tesla Model S can accelerate to 100kph in just 2.5 seconds, the same as Bugatti Veyron and Ferrari’s LaFerrari.
Since battery vehicles all have instant torque, lots of electric cars will presumably be capable of similar. Porsche, Mercedes-Benz and Audi are all bringing out luxury electric models. Speed could become commoditised. Of course, Ferrari could probably build an electric car but that would lift R&D spending, impairing profit growth.
Along with a crimson paint-job, a Ferrari’s ear-splitting growl is what makes fans weak at the knees – and willing to shell out up to US$2 million to buy one. (Prospective buyers can even listen to a sound-clip of a V12 engine on Ferrari’s website.)
The planet is warming faster than feared and the effects are becoming apparent even to sceptics. So there’s a risk that combustion engines could rapidly start to feel dated. Worse: the roar of a Ferrari tearing through the streets of London or Los Angeles may one day trigger feelings of hostility, not forbearance or jealousy. Remember smoking in restaurants?
At about 20% of sales, Ferrari’s R&D spending is already proportionately higher than rivals because its sales volumes are much lower.
A sudden industry shift might hamper Ferrari’s new car sales because customers would worry their combustion engine vehicles wouldn’t retain their high residual values. Ferrari also makes money by selling combustion engines to Maserati, accounting for about 6 percent of revenue last year.
Marchionne said the carmaker would expand the range to vehicles that appeal to a larger demographic by focusing on characteristics other than the technological prowess typical of its recent 8-cylinder and 12-cylinder models.
One such example is the GTC4Lusso T, a four-seater with a smaller V8 turbo engine, “designed to be driven every day”, the company said when the car was unveiled in September.
Marchionne added that it is easier “to generate profits and cash if we stick to cars while at the same time look at the extension into luxury at a more reasonable pace”. — Bloomberg/Reuters
Keyword: Most Ferrari cars to become hybrids by 2019, says CEO