Not again.
The charismatic and opinionated CEO of Ferrari NV (and FCA) Sergio Marchionne has yet again brought up the subject of a Ferrari SUV, though this time it’s being accompanied by the matter of an all-electric supercar. Marchionne is adamant that Ferrari’s contenders in the electric supercar and SUV markets will be dominating forces.
“If there’s an electric supercar to be built, then Ferrari will be the first. People are amazed at what Tesla did with a supercar; I’m not trying to minimise what Elon did, but I think it’s doable by all of us.” — Sergio Marchionne, CEO, Ferrari NV
Marchionne has been famously skeptical of the shift to electric propulsion, though it appears his stance on the subject has softened. In an interview with Bloomberg, he said that automakers have an opportunity now to reinvent themselves ahead of a seismic shift in the auto industry. He think that by 2025, less than half of all new cars sold will feature internal combustion, making way for alternatively powered vehicles with hybrid, electric, and hydrogen fuel-cell powertrains.
The driven, opinionated CEO then talked about the likelihood of a Ferrari SUV, in response to Lamborghini introducing its Urus late last year. Marchionne said that Ferrari will be introducing its own SUV, “the fastest on the market,” by 2020 at the latest.
Ferrari NV, and indeed the Fiat-Chrysler group, have been relatively guarded insofar as investment towards battery-electric propulsion and alternative fuels. However, the gameplan for Ferrari in the coming years will include hybrid vehicles “because we have to do it,” and so Marchionne says that “going from there to an electric car is easy.”
By 2022, Marchionne will want to have doubled Ferrari’s operating profit to about €2-billion (or $3.08-billion), largely on the success of the SUV, the electric supercar, as well as a heavily renewed lineup. To do so, Ferrari will exceed its long-standing 10,000/year production limit that has allowed the marque to maintain its exclusivity.
However, zeroing in on the SUV, it’s worth noting that this is not the first time we’ve heard talk about this. As recently as October last year, Ferrari bosses were adamant that there was no SUV programme on the cards, a position confirmed by Ferrari tech boss Micheal Leiters. However, not a week later, Marchionne reiterated that he’s “dead serious” about the project, going on to state his desire to “master the relationship between exclusivity and scarcity,” while also keeping a widening product portfolio in mind.
For more information on Ferrari, check out our Showroom.
