Ferrari has already hit its 2026 sales target for the Luce, its first electric car, despite a fierce backlash to the vehicle since its unveiling in May. Chief executive Benedetto Vigna said the company had secured enough orders to meet this year's target, believed to be just under 500 global units.
Presenting Ferrari's second-quarter results last week, Vigna said the company is "very pleased with how orders are proceeding." He said demand is "in line with our expectations," with reports suggesting China has generated the highest volume of pre-sales.
"Clients who place orders are both existing and new customers, and this too is in line with our expectations," Vigna told reporters on Thursday. He added that the Luce had not altered Ferrari's long-term EV strategy.
"When clients see the car, they're really enthusiastic and happy," Vigna said, dismissing suggestions that Ferrari was resorting to aggressive marketing tactics or pressuring loyal customers to place orders. "It's a product they have to buy if they love it, if they have a genuine interest in it," he added.
Strong demand from China
The Financial Times said the majority of orders already placed are from customers in China, citing people familiar with the matter. Appetite in China is reportedly so strong that customer orders have moved into 2027 production schedules.
Vigna insisted, however, that demand for the battery-electric model has been spread evenly across global markets. "Of course, some countries might be more accustomed to EVs, but we're not seeing a specific pattern," he said.
A radical departure for Ferrari
The Luce, priced at £500,000, was revealed on May 25 and designed by Sir Jony Ive. The four-door electric saloon marks a radical departure from the low-slung, sharp-edged supercars for which the Italian marque is renowned, and the backlash to its unveiling has drawn comparisons with the public outrage sparked by Jaguar's "woke" rebrand in 2024. The reaction followed the subsequent departure of Ferrari's long-serving marketing boss.
Performance and design details
The Luce produces 1,000hp and can sprint from 0 to 60mph in just 2.5 seconds, powered by four electric motors, one for each wheel. It has a top speed of 193mph and, according to Ferrari, can travel more than 329 miles on a full charge.
Its retro-inspired interior was heavily influenced by Ive, the designer behind the first iPhone, and is expected to influence the cockpits of future Ferrari models. The company says all key components are produced in-house, allowing it to support and repair the vehicle long into the future and helping to protect residual values.
According to previous Daily Mail reports, the Pope was given exclusive early access to the Luce and enjoyed the world's first test-drive ahead of its official unveiling.
Online mockery and criticism
Despite those claims, Ferrari's first EV was ruthlessly mocked online within moments of the covers coming off in May.
Luca di Montezemolo, who served as Ferrari chairman from 1991 to 2014, publicly criticised the model within hours of its unveiling. He told Italian media: "If I had to say what I really think, I would be hurting Ferrari. This is surely a car that at least the Chinese won't copy from us."
Reactions on social media were even more brutal. AI-generated images of the Luce quickly circulated on X after its reveal, with some depicting the EV as a vacuum cleaner and others comparing it to the Homer car from The Simpsons.
