Ferrari says its move to electrification has been “very well received” by customers locally and overseas.
The Prancing Horse has launched a series of hybrid supercars, and has set out to produce its first pure-electric car by 2025.
Speaking to CarExpert about the new V6 hybrid Ferrari 296 GTB, Jan Voss, President of Ferrari Australia, said the move to electrification is not just about ticking an emissions box, but actually improving the Ferrari experience.
“Once people have they seen the car, heard the car, read about the car, had a chance to touch and feel it, people quickly understood that we are not just putting a hybrid engine in the car for the sake of putting it in the car,” Mr Voss said.
“With Ferrari we add technology when it makes sense and when it enhances the performance of the car. The 296 GTB is adding a 100hp (75kW) over the F8 even though it’s a V6.”
Mr Voss says Ferrari’s current range of powertrains, from a naturally-aspirated V12 to a hybrid V6, makes for the most exciting product portfolio the brand has ever seen. Nonetheless, he admitted the future of engines like V12s has yet to be determined in the long term.
Despite being a turbocharged V6 hybrid, customers keen on the 296 GTB will be waiting somewhere between 12 and 18 months for their car if they order one today. Check out our deep dive in to the new hybrid powertrain here.
As for a pure electric vehicle, given Ferrari Global Chairman John Elkann has already promised one will arrive in 2025?
Mr Voss says the Italian brand will do it in a unique way, and that feedback from business and market analysts is very positive.
“We will have an electric Ferrari by 2025. If you listen to the street, Wall St financially speaking, everyone is excited. Some of the most renowned analysts feel that this is going to take Ferrari to the next level,” Mr Voss said.
“In the history of Ferrari, always accomplishing a series of firsts has always been building the legend that is Ferrari today and I think an EV future is not going to be an exception to that.”
Dieter Knechtel, President of Ferrari Far East and Middle East, argued full electric vehicles may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but the product will likely redefine the segment and bring Ferrari to the forefront of electric supercars.
“I think the traditional Ferrari customer might have his own thinking about going electric, and it might not be everyone’s first choice” Mr Knechtel told CarExpert.
“However, I think we will need to convince with the product when it comes to the market, and I think it will be stunning and outstanding as you would expect from Ferrari.”
Mr Knechtel believes there’s an emerging market for electric Ferraris, which will rejuvenate the brand’s customer base into the future.
“We will need to understand that there are a lot of young people out there who grow up in a different time,” Mr Knechtel said, pointing to a “different generation of people who may be more open to new technologies like this”.
“There might be an opportunity to rejuvenate our brand and our customer base and I see the positive sides to that,” he said.
Ferrari Australia currently sells the 296 GTB as well a the Ferrari SF90, both of which are hybrid.
