Ferrari’s stock price fell immediately after the company officially unveiled its first all-electric model. Designed by former Apple Chief Design Officer Jonathan Ive, the new car features a minimalist style that stands in stark contrast to the design language of the Italian automaker’s gasoline-powered sports cars.
Ferrari stated that the model, named Luce, has a starting price of $640,000, is equipped with a 122-kilowatt-hour battery, and offers a range of 530 kilometers. The vehicle features four electric motors, accelerates from 0 to 100 km/h in just 2.5 seconds, and has a top speed exceeding 310 km/h.
As the world’s most valuable sports car brand, Ferrari holds iconic status among car enthusiasts and Formula 1 fans, making the launch of this new model highly anticipated. However, the Luce’s sedan-like exterior design immediately sparked polarized reactions, with some analysts questioning whether it truly embodies Ferrari’s sports car DNA.
During early trading on the Milan Stock Exchange on Tuesday local time, Ferrari’s stock price plummeted by as much as 8% before narrowing its losses to 6%, reflecting investors’ doubts about whether the new model will be a resounding success. All Ferrari models are produced in Maranello, northern Italy. Prior to the new car’s launch, the company’s market capitalization stood at 56 billion euros (approximately 442.913 billion yuan at current exchange rates).
The Luce is Ferrari’s first five-seater and the brand’s second four-door model, targeting ultra-high-net-worth families rather than traditional sports car enthusiasts. Ferrari’s other four-door model is the Purosangue SUV, launched in 2022.
Founded in 1939, Ferrari describes the car’s design as “simplified and well-organized, with everything focused on the driving experience,” emphasizing that it is a “Ferrari vehicle redefined.”
Last year, Ferrari revised its goals for full electrification. The brand now plans that by 2030, 40% of its models will be gasoline-powered, 40% will be hybrids, and 20% will be fully electric. In 2022, its original target was for fully electric, hybrid, and gasoline models to account for 40%, 40%, and 20% of its lineup by 2030, respectively.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna stated: “We firmly believe that a company can only demonstrate industry leadership by daring to break new ground and embracing the challenges of new technologies. The Ferrari Luce stems from this spirit of exploration and showcases our unprecedented vision for electrification.”
However, some observers argue that this new model deviates from the classic approach that has made Ferrari one of the world’s most profitable automakers. According to Bloomberg, Pierre-Olivier Essig, head of research at AIR Capital, wrote in a client report: “The Luce’s appearance falls somewhere between the all-electric Honda Accord and the Tesla Model 3; we simply cannot comprehend Ferrari’s new strategy.”
The Luce was co-developed by Ferrari and the LoveFrom design studio. The studio was founded by Jonathan Ive after he left Apple, where he led the design of numerous iconic products such as the iPhone, MacBook, and Apple Watch. Ive is currently collaborating with OpenAI to develop a new AI-powered device.
Although Ferrari sought to differentiate this new model from its other vehicles, it still retained design elements to appeal to combustion engine enthusiasts: speakers inside and outside the vehicle play simulated engine sounds. Ferrari claims that these sounds are amplified from the raw sound of the electric motor, resulting in a highly realistic texture.
