Ferrari launches Luce at event in Rome.
Ferrari
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna on Thursday sought to defend the 550,000-euro (roughly $640,000) price tag for the luxury carmaker’s first fully electric vehicle.
The Luce was unveiled on Monday and sparked a negative market reaction, with Ferrari’s Milan-listed stock falling 8% on Tuesday.
Speaking at a round table in Modena, Italy, on Thursday, Vigna reportedly said the cost of the manufacturer’s new Luce model was a fair price to pay for innovation.
He said that media coverage may lead some to conclude the sports car manufacturer would replace traditional engines with an all-electric version, which he stressed was not the case.
“You have to see Luce to understand that it has nothing to do with Chinese EVs or those by other brands,” Vigna said, according to Reuters. CNBC has contacted Ferrari and is awaiting a response.
The investor reaction to the Luce’s launch was accompanied by a social media firestorm. The car’s unconventional design was criticized by the company’s former boss, as well as Italy’s transport minister.
Auto analysts, however, have downplayed the investor backlash, saying it is “too early to be overly concerned.”
The stock closed down 0.1% on Wednesday, extending Tuesday’s losses. It was last seen trading up 1.7% on Thursday.
Speaking earlier in the week, Ferrari’s Vigna described the launch of the Luce model as a “very, very important day” for the company, symbolizes the opening of “a new chapter” in its history.
When asked whether the company could satisfy new super-wealthy customers and its typical clientele, Vigna told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed, “Look, when you do a new technology, you need always to keep in mind a word that is called respect.”
“Respect of the technology, because when you have a new technology, you need to make sure that that technology is properly represented in the design, so the design must be different,” he added.
