Ferrari unveils Luce at an event in Rome.
ferrari
ferrari Chief Executive Officer Benedetto Viña on Thursday sought to defend the 550,000 euro (about $640,000) price tag of the luxury car maker’s first fully electric vehicle, saying the model was receiving strong interest from customers, including new ultra-high-net-worth customers.
Luce sparked a negative market reaction when it was announced on Monday, with Ferrari’s Milan-listed shares falling 8% on Tuesday.
Vigna reportedly told a roundtable discussion in Modena, Italy, on Thursday that the cost of the manufacturer’s new Luce model was a fair price to pay for the innovation.
He stressed that while media reports may lead some to conclude that sports car manufacturers will replace traditional engines with all-electric versions, this is not the case.
“If you don’t look at Luce, you have to understand that it has nothing to do with Chinese EVs or other brands of EVs,” Vigna said, according to Reuters. CNBC has reached out to Ferrari and is awaiting a response.
Investor reaction to Luce’s launch was accompanied by a social media firestorm. The car’s unconventional design was criticized by the company’s former bosses and Italy’s transport minister.
However, auto analysts are downplaying the investor backlash, saying it is “too early to be overly concerned.”
The stock closed 0.1% lower on Wednesday, extending Tuesday’s decline. It last rose 1.3% on Thursday.
Earlier this week, Ferrari’s Mr Vigna described the launch of the Luce model as a “very important day” for the company, symbolizing the beginning of a “new chapter” in its history.
Asked whether the company will be able to satisfy new and typical customers, Vigna told CNBC’s Charlotte Reid, “When you develop new technology, you always have to keep the word respect in mind.”
“Respect technology. If we develop new technology, we need to make sure that technology is properly represented in the design, so the design has to be different,” he added.
Ferrari’s first five-seater car, the Luce model, can reach 60 mph in approximately 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of approximately 192 mph.
Ferrari announced that it chose to develop and manufacture all components in-house in Maranello, but outsourced the design to LoveFrom, an agency founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive.
EV criticism
In response to the criticism the EV has received, former Ferrari chairman Luca di Montezemolo, who held various leadership positions at Ferrari for decades until 2014, told Italian media that the vehicle was a disgrace to the company’s storied history.
“I want the prancing horse logo removed from that car,” he said on the sidelines of a business meeting in Rome, according to Reuters.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna stands in the paddock before the F1 Italian Grand Prix at Autodromo Nazionale Monza on September 7, 2025 in Monza, Italy.
Mark Sutton – F1 | Formula 1 | Getty Images
Ferrari declined to comment on Di Montezemolo’s comments. Mr Montezemolo last year joined the board of rival McLaren Group Holdings Limited, which makes competing sports cars and focuses on hybrid engines. McLaren also competes with Ferrari in F1.
Italy’s Deputy Prime Minister and Transport Minister Matteo Salvini also criticized Luce.
“It’s an electric car, prohibitively expensive (550,000 euros!), and from an aesthetic point of view it says it all… It looks like nothing more than a Prancing Horse car. And this is supposed to be an ‘innovation’? Who knows what[Ferrari founder]Enzo Ferrari would say…” he wrote to X.
—CNBC’s Michael Wayland and Robert Frank contributed to this report.
Disclosure: CNBC is a sponsor of McLaren Racing.
