Ferrari hybrid sales overtake traditional models

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Sales of Ferraris with hybrid engines have overtaken those of traditional models for the first time, a seminal moment for a brand inextricably linked with supercars driven by noisy, powerful engines. 

Some 51 per cent of Ferrari’s cars sold between July and September were hybrid, compared with 43 per cent in the previous three months and just 19 per cent a year ago. 

Four of the 13 models offered by Ferrari in the quarter were hybrids. Ferrari’s three-month sales were driven by the 296 GTB and GTS supercars, which are hybrids that also use a V6 engine, as well as the top-end SF90 hybrid. 

The 296 range marks the first time that Ferrari’s entry-level supercars have included hybrid models. The brand launched its first-ever hybrid with the $1.4mn LaFerrari hypercar in 2013, and the SF90, launched in 2019, was the first time it used plug-in hybrid technology in a road car.

A steady increase in production of its non-hybrid Purosangue, a V12 engine powered high-riding vehicle, means that the hybrid sales may drop back below engine-only models in a future quarter. The Purosangue is expected to account for one in five Ferraris sold next year.

The supercar brand does not expect to launch its first fully electric model until 2025.

The company has promised that 40 per cent of its line-up will be battery-only cars by the end of the decade, but has refused to put an end date on production of engine-only models.

Chief executive Benedetto Vigna said Ferrari wanted to give its customers the “freedom” to choose how their cars are powered.

“Some of them will not take electric cars, some others will take both, some others will get into the Ferrari family because of electric cars,” he added on Thursday.

An increase in the number of Ferrari customers paying extra for custom features such as highly coloured brake callipers led the brand to upgrade its annual profit expectations again on Thursday. 

Net profits jumped 46 per cent from the same period last year to €332mn between July and September. While car deliveries rose only 9 per cent to 3,459, revenues climbed 24 per cent to €1.5bn, with higher margins from an increase in “personalisations”.

The supercar maker has upgraded profit expectations every three months over the past year and expects adjusted earnings for the year to be €1.57bn, up from previous guidance in August of €1.51bn-€1.54bn. Bernstein auto analyst Daniel Roeska said the company’s raising of profit expectations was “Groundhog Day”.

The brand has even begun offering personalisations on used cars, such as different wheels or changes to the interiors. Vigna said that “protective layers on the paint” were a popular feature among second-hand buyers.

Ferrari said its cars were now sold out until 2026 and “[the] order book remains at highest levels reflecting strong demand across all geographies”.

Sales in Europe, the Middle East and Africa — its largest region — rose 8 per cent to 1,398 cars, while sales in the Americas rose by a fifth to 1,096 cars. 

Last month the business began accepting cryptocurrency payments in the US, and will extend the scheme to Europe.

Vigna said the move had been “well received” and that customers, including some over the age of 40, had already placed orders using cryptocurrencies.