Ferrari: why the factory refuses to eliminate the combustion engine – 05/14/2023 – Market

Contrary to the automobile industry, the Italian Ferrari will continue to manufacture cars with internal combustion engines until the end of the 2030s, despite the efforts of governments around the world to phase out the technology.

But why?

According to the head of the Italian super sports car maker, it would be “arrogant” to dictate to customers what they can buy.

In practice, however, for Ferrari, as for many other luxury automakers, the shift to electric cars poses a major marketing challenge.

On the other hand, the company should present its first electric supercar in 2025.

Traditionally, the blaring sound of an eight- or 12-cylinder internal combustion engine has been a key part of the brand’s appeal.

And battery-powered cars are much quieter.

However, Ferrari plans to launch its first all-electric model in two years’ time – a design that the company says will offer a “unique driving experience”.

The strategy, however, clashes with that of rival McLaren, whose CEO told a forum on the automotive industry hosted by the British newspaper Financial Times this week that the technology was “not ready” for use in supercars, due to the weight of the batteries. .

Last year, Ferrari unveiled plans for a three-pronged approach to new vehicle development as part of its commitment to becoming carbon neutral by 2030.

The Italian carmaker said electric and hybrid cars would make up a growing proportion of its portfolio by the end of the decade.

But he stressed that he would also continue to develop internal combustion engines, carrying forward what he called “an essential part of the company’s heritage”.

Until recently, this strategy appeared to have a limited shelf life, with several major markets preparing to ban the sale of new cars with internal combustion engines by 2035.

In March, however, the European Union agreed to exempt from that ban cars powered exclusively by synthetic “e-fuels”, produced with renewable energy.

Those fuels are expected to be expensive, but the loophole means that high-performance car makers will still be able to sell models with engines in one of the world’s biggest markets.

In an interview with the BBC, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna pointed to this decision as a sign that technology was evolving and denied that it would harm the company’s environmental credentials.

“I don’t want to be arrogant and impose a choice on our customer,” he says.

“It is the customer who must choose whether he wants an ICE (internal combustion engine), hybrid or electric car.”

But in other markets, including the UK and Brazil, such a loophole for e-fuels does not yet exist.

This raises the possibility that some Ferrari models are available in the EU but banned elsewhere.

“We have to deal with the rules of all the countries in which we operate”, says Vigna.

“The reason why we have three types of propulsion – ICE, hybrid and electric – is that it allows us to deal with any regulation, all over the world”, he concludes.