Prvi električni automobil legendarnog proizvođača Ferrari će koštati najmanje pola miliona evra, potvrdio je dobro upućen izvor za Reuters. Unofficial reports of the car’s price have been circulating as preparations are being made for the opening of a new production line in Maranello, in northern Italy.
The information, which has not yet been officially confirmed by the luxury car manufacturer, was published at a time when the manufacturer was preparing to open a new production line in the city where the company first began producing its cars. The factory, located in the town of Maranello where the company began producing its first cars, could increase production by one-third, according to Euronews.
The price of the first electric car being speculated upon is far above the average price of other vehicles from this manufacturer and does not include special add-ons that typically raise the final amount by 15 to 20 percent. Earlier this year, a car with the recognizable Ferrari logo cost an average of 350,000 euros, including options and personalized details.
For comparison, a less exclusive model from Porsche, the Taycan, costs 100,000 euros and above. Exclusivity is at the heart of the Ferrari brand, with fewer than 14,000 cars delivered last year. Increasing production capacity is a bold move for the company, as many believe that the hefty price allows the brand to maintain its elite status.
Buyers are willing to spend up to two years on waiting lists for certain models, with a spot on the list becoming a status symbol. According to an unnamed source for Reuters, the new factory will allow the company to increase production by about 6,000 vehicles per year, to around 20,000. However, this also entails an increase in the number of models, meaning there are limitations on how many units of a particular car can be sold.
Cars produced in Maranello will include electric vehicles, as well as gas and hybrid models. The factory is expected to be fully operational in three to four months, says Reuters. In April, Ferrari’s CEO Benedetto Vigna told the company’s shareholders that the most modern factory will ensure flexibility and technical capacity that surpasses our needs in the coming years.
The company is currently working on another electric model, but the project is still in the early stages, according to an unnamed source. Ferrari predicts that by 2026, around sixty percent of their offerings will be electric or hybrid cars.
Although electric vehicles are generally quiet, engineers are developing „sound signatures“ to give these powerful machines a distinctive sound reminiscent of an internal combustion engine. „When we talk about luxury cars, like ours, we are talking about the emotion we can deliver to our customers, so we are not talking about functional cars like other EVs we see on the roads,“ said Vigna in an interview with CNBC earlier this year.
„We honestly have no doubt that we can deliver a unique experience to our customers because we can use technology in a unique way. That is what our company has been doing from the beginning,“ the CEO added. In the first-quarter report released in May, Ferrari stated that their main revenue increased by 13 percent from January to March.
This was driven by sales of models such as the Daytona SP3 and higher profits from vehicle customization. Deliveries drastically dropped in China, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, although only about ten percent of units produced are sold in that market.
