MILAN (AP) — Italian luxury sports carmaker Ferrari raised its 2025 guidance on Thursday in the face of global 15% tariffs on foreign car imports to the United States as the company unveiled the new powertrain and chassis of its first fully electric production vehicle.
Yet the debut of its electric vehicle was marred by the company’s worst trading day since going public in 2016. Industry analysts had expected much greater long-term growth and shares plunged 15% on the Milan Stock Exchange and about the same on the New York Stock Exchange.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna declined to give target production numbers or a price for the Ferrari Elettrica, which will be delivered beginning late next year, with the design to be revealed in the spring.
Under the carmaker’s new five-year plan, 40% of the product lineup will be the brand’s core internal combustion engines, 40% will be hybrid and 20% will be electric by 2030, with an average of four new launches a year in the period. The new business plan calls for more models with lower volumes of each.
That signals a sharp reduction in the number of fully electric vehicles the company said it would build just a few yeas ago. In 2022, Ferrari said 40% of its lineup would be electric.
Other luxury automakers have scaled back plans for electric vehicle production to match demand.
The fully electric vehicle Ferrari Elettrica represents a new segment that Vigna said would bring new buyers to Ferrari. It builds on 15 years of electrification research at Ferrari, starting with Formula 1 technology that was first incorporated into the limited edition La Ferrari hybrid supercar that debuted in 2013.
To maintain the sports car feel and emotions integral to the Ferrari experience, the Elettrica will capture powertrain vibration through accelerometers on the rear axle that will be amplified to create a sports car roar. Drivers also can select five power levels using steering panels to create the sensation of continuous acceleration.
Ferrari also is manufacturing most critical components internally, including the battery system and software. The chassis and body shell will be made out of 75% recycled aluminum, saving 6.7 tons of carbon dioxide per vehicle.
Ferrari said that revenues this year would top 7.1 billion euros ($8.2 billion), up from more than 7 billion euros in the previous guideline. Ferrari also targets earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of 2.7 billion euros with a margin of more than 38.3%.
Presenting its five-year plan, the Formula 1 racing team and sports carmaker that has expanded into luxury goods is projecting net revenues of 9 billion euros by 2030 with and EBITDA of at least 3.6 billion euros on 40% margins.
Citi analyst Harald Hendrikse said the outlook fell below even “lower growth” estimates and said the projections reflect a conservative outlook from Ferrari.
By COLLEEN BARRY
Associated Press