Ferrari Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna said Thursday that customer demand for the company's first fully electric vehicle, the Luce, is developing as the automaker anticipated, even after early negative reviews at launch.
The Luce, unveiled in May and priced at €550,000 ($631,000), departs from Ferrari's customary two-door, petrol-powered performance cars. The model is a five-seat, four-door saloon that marks a notable shift in the marque's product mix.
Speaking during Ferrari's presentation of second quarter results, Vigna said the order profile for the Luce is consistent with expectations. "Clients who put orders in are both existing and new ones, and this too is in line with our expectations," he told reporters. He added that the introduction of the Luce has not changed Ferrari's plans for future electric vehicles.
Vigna also addressed customer reaction to the car. "When clients see the car, they're really enthusiastic and happy," he said, rejecting suggestions the company was resorting to aggressive marketing or pressuring long-standing buyers to secure sales. "It's a product they have to buy if they love it, if they have a genuine interest in it," he said.
On geographic distribution of demand, Vigna described interest as broadly balanced. "Of course some countries might be more used to EVs, but we're not seeing a specific pattern," he said, indicating no single region is dominating initial order books.
Ferrari reported second quarter adjusted earnings per share of €2.62, below the analyst consensus of €2.85. Net revenues for the period were €1.94 billion, short of the €2.15 billion estimate, though still up 8% year-over-year from €1.79 billion.
Despite missing analyst expectations on both adjusted EPS and revenue, Ferrari raised its full-year outlook. The company lifted its revenue guidance to approximately €7.60 billion from €7.50 billion and increased its adjusted diluted EPS guidance to at least €9.68 from at least €9.45. It also raised its industrial free cash flow outlook to at least €1.55 billion from €1.50 billion and increased the adjusted EBITDA target to at least €2.97 billion from €2.93 billion.
Following the release of results, shares were trading down roughly 1% in New York shortly after the market opened.
Contextual note - The Luce's introduction represents a strategic expansion of Ferrari's product lineup into a higher-volume segment for the marque, while the latest quarterly metrics show a mix of underlying growth and near-term miss versus consensus estimates. Ferrari's revised targets suggest management expects to recover momentum across the year.