Ferrari unveiled the almost $600,000 Luce, its first ever EV, marking a major departure for the Maranello-based brand, which has long been known for making some of the world’s most powerful gasoline cars. It’s a decision that clashes with other giant carmakers, including rival Lamborghini, which, just a couple of months ago, decided to pull the plug on plans to make an all-electric vehicle, citing tepid demand from sports car lovers.
But even if Ferrari’s high-end clientele shares that fondness for a roaring engine, the global push towards electrification, made more urgent by the fossil fuel shock from the war in Iran, suggests that fully electric sports cars are bound to become more mainstream, and Ferrari’s bet is part of the brand’s strategy to “define what luxury electrification looks like before someone else does,” one analyst told Reuters. So far, that bet hasn’t paid off: The company’s share price crashed 6% after the Luce was revealed.