Photo: Ferrari
It has taken a while until Ferrari embraced the hybrid technology, but it looks like once it did, it went all in. The Italian brand only has one hybrid model in its range at the moment, but a combination of stricter CO2 emissions and the need for larger profit could force the adoption of electric motors for the iconic supercars.
Ferrari's sales target this year is 8,000 units, but the company looks to increase that to 9,000 over the next three years. It could probably sell more than that, but two factors keep the production in place. One is the exclusive character of the brand that needs to be maintained at all costs, and the other is the exemption from the usual emissions requirements that are faced by manufacturers who go over the 10,000 units a year mark.
However, surpassing that threshold won't instantly turn Ferrari into a mainstream brand, so that probably isn't what's holding the Italians back. The second restriction was harder to go around, though, and it was the one that forced Ferrari into accepting turbocharging first, and now hybrid powertrains.
But despite the early voices who cried "blasphemy" at the though of a Ferrari with an electric motor, LaFerrari's performances have managed to silent even the most ardent opposer. With such a positive reception, it's only natural that Marchionne, the Ferrari boss, is thinking about expanding the technology on other models as well.
In fact, he went as far as to say that all Ferrari cars will feature some level of hybridization starting 2019. Of course, the main job of the electric motor will be to enhance the vehicle's performance, but it will also inadvertently bring down its fuel consumption and the CO2 emissions that go with it.
With that in mind, Marchionne declared that "although I neither commit to this nor do I give any sort of certification of it being our objective, it is possible that the [annual sales] number could be well in excess of 10,000 cars in 2025," says Autocar.
With no shortage of affluent people always on the lookout for cars to reflect their status, Ferrari has every right to think about increasing its production output if there are no other technical limitation in the way. And after a very strong financial year, the Italians are feeling more confident than ever.
However, surpassing that threshold won't instantly turn Ferrari into a mainstream brand, so that probably isn't what's holding the Italians back. The second restriction was harder to go around, though, and it was the one that forced Ferrari into accepting turbocharging first, and now hybrid powertrains.
But despite the early voices who cried "blasphemy" at the though of a Ferrari with an electric motor, LaFerrari's performances have managed to silent even the most ardent opposer. With such a positive reception, it's only natural that Marchionne, the Ferrari boss, is thinking about expanding the technology on other models as well.
In fact, he went as far as to say that all Ferrari cars will feature some level of hybridization starting 2019. Of course, the main job of the electric motor will be to enhance the vehicle's performance, but it will also inadvertently bring down its fuel consumption and the CO2 emissions that go with it.
With that in mind, Marchionne declared that "although I neither commit to this nor do I give any sort of certification of it being our objective, it is possible that the [annual sales] number could be well in excess of 10,000 cars in 2025," says Autocar.
With no shortage of affluent people always on the lookout for cars to reflect their status, Ferrari has every right to think about increasing its production output if there are no other technical limitation in the way. And after a very strong financial year, the Italians are feeling more confident than ever.
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