Ferrari's first all-electric supercar, the Luce, has achieved its first-year sales target in just two months, finding nearly 500 owners despite a high starting price of 640,000 USD and widespread negative feedback. The swift sales success comes after an initial launch that sparked considerable controversy and skepticism.
When Ferrari unveiled the Luce in May, it immediately faced a wave of criticism, with very few positive responses. Critics harshly condemned its design language, investors reacted with a drop in stock prices, and a former Ferrari chairman even declared the model unworthy of the "Prancing Horse" logo. This negative reception, however, did not diminish the Italian brand's appeal.
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The Ferrari Luce electric supercar in Trung Quoc. Photo: Weibo |
The Financial Times, citing close sources, reported that Ferrari had anticipated selling "under 500 units" of the Luce in its first year. All of these vehicles were reserved by early this month, despite a starting price of 550,000 EUR (approximately 640,000 USD) before taxes. While Ferrari denied coercing customers to buy the Luce to maintain privileges for purchasing other supercars, observers noted that the loyal customer base still played a significant role in this sales launch.
Ferrari aimed to target new wealthy individuals rather than traditional collectors. Dealers were instructed not to pressure traditional collectors into buying the Luce, focusing instead on cultivating new customer groups. This strategy primarily targeted affluent individuals in Trung Quoc and tech entrepreneurs in Silicon Valley, markets already familiar with electric vehicles. The approach has shown initial effectiveness.
Ferrari has a long-term goal of selling approximately 2,500 Luce units by 2030, which translates to about 600 vehicles per year, accounting for about 5% of the brand's total annual production. Demand has been particularly strong in the Trung Quoc market, with tech startups in My also showing a very positive response. Scott Sherwood, an independent luxury vehicle market analyst, commented that Ferrari's ability to position and reach its target customers is "on a completely different level compared to competitors".
The Luce's debut was not smooth. The livestream event experienced technical issues, and the vehicle's exterior received numerous complaints from both experts and the public. Even rival automakers participated in mocking the design. On social media, many compared the Luce to common, inexpensive crossovers, and Ferrari's stock dropped more than 8% immediately after the car's launch. This model is considered the most controversial in the automobile industry since Tesla introduced the Cybertruck.
Following the wave of opposition, Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's long-time commercial and marketing director, resigned. The company affirmed that Mr. Galliera's departure and his replacement by a former BMW executive had been decided before the Luce's launch.
The first commercial Luce unit to leave the factory will be auctioned at the Monterey Car Week event in August. Sotheby's expects this "Tailor Made" charity version to fetch over 1.1 million USD. Observers are now waiting to see whether the Luce can maintain this sales momentum or if it will cool off, similar to the case of Tesla.
