Ferrari boss promises emotional EV, says Teslas are functional cars
The world didn't end when Ferrari introduced the Purosangue SUV last year and we're fairly certain an apocalypse won't destroy Earth in 2025 when Maranello will unveil its first electric car. Following the LaFerrari hybrid and the SF90 Stradale/Spider and 296 GTB/GTS plug-in hybrids, the Prancing Horse is preparing to get rid of the combustion engine for an EV. The company's CEO told Automotive News deliveries to customers will commence in 2026.
When asked about how the zero-emission Ferrari will be different than the current crop of EVs, Benedetto Vigna said it'll be an emotional car capable of providing a "unique driving experience." The 53-year-old executive argued functional cars such as Teslas are simply for driving from point A to point B. He went on to say owners of such vehicles don't care about the brand and are only interested in travelling from one point to another.
The Ferrari of EVs will be just as exciting as an ICE model, according to the Italian brand's CEO: "Driving thrills is a combination of factors: longitudinal acceleration, lateral acceleration, sound, gear-changing, and braking. This doesn't change if the powertrain is electric."
Although he sees Teslas as being nothing more than functional cars, Ferrari's Chief Executive Officer believes Elon Musk's company helped push automakers to accelerate the development of EVs. Before Tesla, "things used to happen too slowly" in regard to electrification, but the "wake-up call" shook things up in the automotive industry and kick-started the electric revolution.
Speaking of rocking down to the electric avenue, Ferrari has previously said 55 percent of models will be hybrids by 2026 while five percent will eschew the ICE. Consequently, it means only 40 percent are going to retain the pure ICE setup in three years from now. By the end of the decade, petrol-only models will represent just 20 percent, with 40 percent hybrids and 40 percent electric cars. At the heart of the hybrids and EVs will be electric motors developed and built in-house.
Meanwhile, Ferrari is keeping busy with the Purosangue. Benedetto Vigna is happy to report the house of Maranello filled the order book four times quicker than expected. Nevertheless, the company is sticking to its original plan by keeping the high-riding V12 model limited to 20 percent of the firm's annual production. Even though it's only February 2023, the company has already received orders that won’t be delivered until later in 2024.
2022 was already a record year in terms of sales for Ferrari with 13,221 cars, and with Purosangue deliveries about to start, 2023 is looking even better. This year, no fewer than four new models will be unveiled, with two of them likely being a Roma convertible and the 812 successor.