Ferrari goes electric

Ferrari’s newest supercar doesn’t roar—it hums. But the response from investors is more like ‘ho-hum.’

After years of anticipation, Ferrari finally unveiled its first fully electric model: the Luce, priced at roughly $640,000 and marking a new chapter for the prancing horse as the company enters the EV era.

The name, Italian for “light”, is meant to symbolize a car that “lights the way toward the future.” But early investor reactions were less enthusiastic, with Ferrari shares falling 5.26% following the reveal.

Identity crisis

The selloff reflects growing concerns over whether Ferrari’s push into EVs could dilute the raw, emotional identity that made the brand what it is in the first place. Investors may also be worried about the scale of the investment required to get there, with Ferrari spending more than half a decade trying to strike the right balance between innovation and tradition while pouring serious cash into EV development and manufacturing capacity, including building a $230 million factory in 2024 to support EV production.

There are also questions around longevity. Ferrari has long built its brand around timelessness, with the company estimating that roughly 90% of every Ferrari ever produced is still running today. Customers are wondering whether the same will be said for an electric Ferrari—especially in a world where battery technology evolves far faster than the lifespan of the cars themselves.

Speed bumps ahead

Ferrari’s EV debut also comes at an awkward moment for the broader market. Porsche, Lamborghini, and McLaren have all pointed to weak demand for fully electric sports cars. Meanwhile, Ford took roughly $19.5 billion in EV-related charges, while Honda recently posted its first annual loss in nearly 70 years after absorbing billions in EV restructuring costs.

The slowdown has become increasingly visible in the US, where President Trump recently eliminated EV tax credits. Rhodium Group’s Clean Investment Monitor found that first-quarter EV sales were flat sequentially and down 23% year over year, according to Semafor.

But the road ahead looks more optimistic: The International Energy Agency expects global EV sales to climb to 23 million vehicles this year, accounting for nearly 30% of all cars sold globally, thanks to surging oil prices tied to the Iran conflict and falling battery prices.

Even so, it’s hard to imagine buyers spending over half a million dollars on an electric Ferrari when they could own one of the brand’s iconic combustion-engine cars for less. And as cheaper Chinese EV makers continue improving rapidly, the company now faces the difficult task of proving an EV can still feel exclusive, timeless, and unmistakably Ferrari.—SY