(Bloomberg) — Ferrari NV shares fell almost 8% after critics panned the look of its first fully electric vehicle, a setback for the Italian super-car maker\u2019s controversial push into EVs.<\/p>\n
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The unveiling of the \u20ac550,000 ($640,000) Ferrari Luce drew largely negative reactions from industry analysts and social media influencers alike, who compared the four-door, five seater\u2019s design to mass-market EVs. For the Luce, Ferrari moved away from the style associated with design chief Flavio Manzoni and tapped Apple Inc.\u2019s former head of design, Jony Ive, to shape the vehicle.<\/p>\n
The car looks like a \u201cmix between a Honda Accord EV and Tesla 3,\u201d Pierre-Olivier Essig, head of research at AIR Capital wrote in a note. \u201cWe are lost in translation with Ferrari\u2019s new strategy.\u201d<\/p>\n
The launch also comes as demand for high-end electric vehicles has become harder to predict and some rivals like Lamborghini and Porsche AG have slowed their electrification plans, citing a lack of buying interest.<\/p>\n
The share price plunge followed a presentation in Rome that marked the final stage of a three-step reveal of the EV that began last year with the car\u2019s core technology and later showed its interior.<\/p>\n
After falling as much as 7.8% in early Milan trading, the stock was 6.4% lower at 1:37 p.m., the steepest decline since October. The company is valued at \u20ac53 billion.<\/p>\n
While the car\u2019s design disappointed many, driving it may still yield different views. The Luce delivers the equivalent of just over 1,000 horsepower and reaches 100 kilometers per hour (62 mph) in 2.5 seconds, quicker than Ferrari\u2019s V12-powered Purosangue SUV. It has a top speed of more than 310 kph.<\/p>\n
\u201cFerrari has not embarked on this blindly and we know that much curiosity has been generated by the Luce,\u201d Bernstein analysts led by Stephen Reitman wrote in a note. He expects there are enough Ferrari customers and collectors, new and old, \u201cto ensure that Luce firmly establishes its position within Ferrari\u2019s range.\u201d<\/p>\n
Still, the early reaction adds to missteps by Ferrari, which delivered long-term targets last year that disappointed investors and raised questions over how it will balance electric technology with the combustion-engine models that remain central to its brand. Ferrari\u2019s 2030 plan cut the expected share of fully electric cars in half to 20% of the lineup, while targeting twice that level of fuel-burning models.<\/p>\n
Test Case<\/p>\n
Developed with Ive and Marc Newson at LoveFrom, the creative collective founded by the former Apple design chief who was behind the IPhone an Apple Mac, the Luce\u2019s smooth surfaces and reduced detailing reflect Ive\u2019s influence and mark a departure from Ferrari\u2019s traditionally muscular styling.<\/p>\n
It\u2019s a major test case: Ferrari has to show that an electric car can fit its model of limited supply, high pricing and emotional appeal, while expanding the range beyond traditional two-seat and four-seat sports cars. The pricing of the vehicle suggests Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Vigna has no intention of sacrificing the brand\u2019s exclusivity to boost volumes.<\/p>\n
The car will show whether the Italian carmaker\u2019s formula works without the roar of an internal combustion engine, particularly with EV residual values still a concern among rich buyers seeking supercars that will hold or even increase their value over time.<\/p>\n
Lamborghini has delayed its first EV, highlighting how hard it has become for luxury-car makers to persuade customers to part with the noise and physicality of combustion engines. Mate Rimac, the founder of Rimac Group, last year said demand for high-end hypercars with electric powertrains stood at about 10 vehicles annually.<\/p>\n
Ferrari has repeatedly said it will continue to offer clients a choice across internal combustion, hybrid and electric powertrains. Its strategy remains focused on mix, personalization and disciplined allocation rather than selling more cars.<\/p>\n
That discipline is central to Ferrari\u2019s model. Like successful luxury peers such as Hermes International SCA and Rolex SA, the company has long relied on waiting lists and carefully managed supply to protect exclusivity. Scarcity is not a side effect of the business, but a tool Ferrari uses to support demand and pricing.<\/p>\n
Its model has insulated Ferrari from the challenges facing higher-volume European carmakers, which are struggling to compete with an influx of cheaper Chinese EVs. The Italian company has the biggest market value of any European automaker, even though it produces fewer than 14,000 cars a year \u2014 far below Volkswagen AG\u2019s total of nearly 9 million. Still, its shares have fallen 31% over the past 12 months amid jitters about the strength of global demand for luxury products.<\/p>\n
Ferrari has framed Luce not as a concession to rules or rivals, but as an attempt to prove that electric technology can deliver the performance and character the brand\u2019s devotees demand. The company\u2019s message is that electrification should provide fresh design and driving possibilities, rather than simply replace an engine with a battery.<\/p>\n
\u201cFerrari Luce is not a response to change,\u201d Executive Chairman John Elkann told journalists during a presentation Sunday. \u201cIt is a deliberate decision to lead what comes next.\u201d<\/p>\n
Ferrari chose a symbolic setting for the Luce\u2019s reveal: the Vela di Calatrava, the sail-shaped structure designed by the Spanish architect and engineer Santiago Calatrava, in the Tor Vergata district outside Rome.<\/p>\n
The backdrop matched the scale of the launch. Ferrari brought more than 200 journalists from around the world to Rome for the unveiling. The carmaker organized two gala dinners for Monday and Tuesday, with 800 customers at each event, the company said. Buyers could begin placing orders starting Monday.<\/p>\n
Style Shift<\/p>\n
The unusual use of glass is one of the Luce\u2019s defining features. Ferrari described it as a \u201cglass house,\u201d a shell-like form that extends below the belt line to the edges of the car. Luce is smoother, but also more familiar: its glassy, pared-back shape sits closer to the styles now becoming common for EVs.<\/p>\n
That puts more pressure on the driving experience. For all the technology Ferrari has packed into the Luce, it makes a somewhat understated first impression. Ferrari is betting that the car\u2019s agility, sound and response on the road will do what the design alone may not: make a five-seat electric car feel unmistakably like a Ferrari.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe had to start from Ferrari, not from electric technology,\u201d Vigna said. \u201cWe had to start from the human dimension.\u201d<\/p>\n
The Luce is powered by four electric motors, one for each wheel, and a high-voltage battery pack designed and built in Maranello, Ferrari\u2019s home town.<\/p>\n
The electric platform allowed Ferrari to fit in five seats for the first time, something not possible with its traditional transaxle configuration, where a front-mid engine is paired with a rear gearbox. The Luce will also have a trunk of 600 liters, or 21 cubic feet, potentially enough space for two golf bags or three big suitcases.<\/p>\n
The car\u2019s format is closer to high-performance electric GTs such as Porsche\u2019s Taycan than to two-seat electric hypercars, though Ferrari\u2019s luxury positioning and scarcity model make the comparison imperfect. Most Taycan versions cost far less than the Luce\u2019s expected price.<\/p>\n
Sound is another key challenge. Ferrari said it spent five years and 40,000 kilometers of track testing to develop the car\u2019s acoustic character. Instead of synthetically mimicking the roar of a combustion engine, the company captures the hum of the electric motors through a sensor on the rear axle, then processes and amplifies the sound.<\/p>\n
That approach is designed to address one of the main doubts around any electric Ferrari: whether a brand historically defined by its growling motors can preserve an emotional connection without the sound of a combustion engine.<\/p>\n
–With assistance from Isolde MacDonogh, Blaise Robinson and Chiara Albanese.<\/p>\n
(Updates with analyst comment in eighths paragraph)<\/p>\n
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