Legendary Italian car maker Ferrari has no intention of phasing out combustion engines and going fully electric or hybrid anytime soon, promising Sunday to keep making the eight and 12-cylinder engines it has made its trademark at least until the end of the 2030s.
The chief of the Italian manufacturer told the BBC in an interview it would be “arrogant” to dictate to customers what they can buy while at the same time walking away from the company’s heritage.
Ferrari instead wants to honor its history of high performance cars using traditional methods of propulsion.
File/1962 12-cyclinder Ferrari 250GT at Brands Hatch, England. (GP Library/Universal Images Group via Getty)
It said electric cars and hybrids would make up an increasing proportion of its range by the end of the decade but would not totally take over manufacturing output.
Ferrari also insisted it would continue to develop internal combustion engines to salute what it called “an essential part of the company’s heritage.”
In the BBC interview, Ferarri boss Benedetto Vigna pointed to this decision as a sign that technology was evolving, and denied doing so would undermine the company’s environmental credentials.
File/FEBRUARY 6, 1977: Paul Newman drives his Ferrari 365 GTB/4 Daytona through the infield section of the Daytona International Speedway during the 24 Hours of Daytona. Newman co-drove the car with Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Milt Minter to a fifth-place overall finish. (ISC Images & Archives via Getty)
“I don’t want to be arrogant and impose a choice on our client,” he said.
“It is the client who must choose if they want an ICE (internal combustion engine), a hybrid or an electric car.”
Serving its clients and giving them what they want has long been a successful strategy for the company.
A Ferrari 296 GTB is on display during Shell’s Power Of Performance at Lavan on May 11, 2023 in New York City. (Photo by John Lamparski/Getty )
According to a report from Automotive News Europe, Ferrari has overtaken Stellantis – the parent company of 14 car companies including Alfa Romeo, Citroen, Fiat, Jeep, Peugeot, Ram, and Vauxhall – despite building fewer than 14,000 vehicles in 2022.
By market capitalisation – the total value of a company on the share market – Ferrari is currently in eighth position ahead of the Stellantis conglomerate, Ford, Honda, General Motors, and Hyundai.