Consumers are still souring on EVs, and now even Ferrari has taken a hit because of it.
The automaker (partially) unveiled its first EV this week, called the Elettrica, but, not long after, disclosed in its latest earnings report that it would be downsizing its all-electric plans. Now, Ferrari says its lineup will be just 20 percent all-electric by 2030, cut in half from a previous goal of having 40 percent of its cars all-electric by then.
Investors reacted with disappointment, sending Ferrari’s stock price tumbling. The poor performance also shows that the financial forecasts for premium automakers aren’t as rosy as they were earlier this decade.
Ferrari, like Aston Martin and Mercedes-Benz before it, hasn’t found the hunger for EVs among its well-heeled customer base as strong as it initially expected. Just a few years ago, nearly every name at the top of the car market—with the exception of bespoke-minded Pagani—unveiled an EV or announced plans to develop one. Ferrari’s announcement is more evidence that the pendulum has swung swiftly the other way.
Wealthy car buyers aren’t as interested in high-end EVs, like the Lamborghini Lanzador, as initially anticipated.
Lamborghini
“Among the investor base, and certainly the analysts too, there are real concerns about just how incongruous EVs are with Ferrari and some questions about whether they should even bother going in that direction,” Bloomberg News automotive reporter Craig Trudell said on Thursday.
Ferrari isn’t the only premium Italian automaker reconsidering its EV plans. On Friday, Autocar reported that the supercar specialists at Lamborghini were contemplating whether its already announced debut EV, the Lanzador, should be a hybrid instead. The marque is said to be discussing what to do now—the potential pivot would be even bigger than Ferrari’s scaled-down electrification strategy—with a decision expected in the coming weeks.
During Ferrari’s Capital Markets Day event, the company adjusted its net revenue forecast for this year from €7 billion, about $8.1 billion, to €7.1 billion, or $8.2 billion. Additionally, it said that it expects its 2030 net revenue to reach €9 billion, which is roughly $10.4 billion by today’s exchange rates.
In the wake of the announcements, the company’s stock price dropped by 15.4 percent to €354 per share in Milan, according to CNBC. It fared better in New York, but just barely, with the price dropping 15 percent to $407.38 per share. The drops represented the company’s single worst trading days on both stock exchanges.
