Ferrari to continue building internal combustion engines on its road to EVs

MARANELLO, Italy -- Ferrari makes some of the fastest cars on the road, but the Italian performance automaker is taking the slow lane to an electric future as it tries to overcome the technology's disadvantages against today's powerful fossil fuel engines.

At an investor day this month, executives promised a new era, with the first full-electric Ferrari in 2025.

But for now, combustion engines remain the noisy heart of what it does. Unlike some rivals, Ferrari has not provided a roadmap for going all electric. Volkswagen Group's Bentley brand and Volvo are both targeting 2030.

According to a source familiar with Ferrari's business plans, a new production line focused on EVs should help lift annual production at its plant in Maranello, Italy, more than 35 percent to more than 15,000 cars by 2025 versus 11,155 in 2021 -- or 65 cars a day versus 46 currently -- delivering higher profit margins in the process.

Ferrari declined to comment.

The automaker has told investors it is targeting a core profit (EBITDA) margin  of 38 to 40 percent in 2026, versus 35.9 percent in 2021.

Its lineup could also grow to at least 17 models by 2026 from 12 today. But most new models will, at least initially, have a combustion engine -- including its first SUV, the Purosangue, powered by its trademark 12-cylinder engine -- though some might be plug-in hybrids.

Ferrari currently has four plug-in hybrids in its lineup.

A zero-emission future poses the same challenges for Ferrari as it does for rivals -- EV batteries weigh hundreds of pounds, affecting aerodynamics and handling, and cannot match the sustained power and throaty roar of a massive combustion engine.

To solve those expensive challenges, Ferrari is researching solid-state batteries, which could theoretically improve battery power, as well as hydrogen fuel cells and synthetic fuels, both of which face an uncertain future.

European Union countries agreed this week to an effective ban on new fossil-fuel car sales but will assess in 2026 whether hybrid vehicles and synthetic, or CO2-neutral, fuels could comply with that goal.

"In every case where you have a technology transition, by definition you have a situation which is a little bit fuzzy, there is some fog," Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna, a technology industry veteran who took over in September, told Reuters.

Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois describes Ferrari's approach as "measured" but adds that might not be popular with investors as some automakers charge towards an electric future.

"They can run their profit center with combustion engines longer and amortize their investment there," he said. "But it's not necessarily what the market wants to hear because the mindset is let us rush into EVs and never look back."

Every 22 minutes on the V-8 assembly line at Maranello a finished engine and chassis come together, which Ferrari calls a "marriage."

For an undisclosed sum, the engine with a V-12 model includes a plate bearing the name of the worker who made it.

Ferrari executives highlight the emotion some drivers feel when they buy one of their cars, that start at more than 200,000 euros ($212,000).

"I see customers coming to take their cars and some of them are crying," Vigna told Reuters.

So it's crucial for Ferrari to create a similarly passionate response to its EVs.

Hybrid sports cars have been a success, pairing powerful engines with the instant acceleration of an electric motor.

But full-electric sports cars have a weight problem because of the huge batteries needed to provide enough power.

Croatian hypercar maker Rimac's Nevera, for instance, weighs 2,200 kg (4,850 lb), more than fossil-fuel sports cars and heavier than the Ford Transit and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter vans.

That enormous weight "in turn affects performance, driving dynamics and experience", said Dario Duse, managing director at consultancy AlixPartners.

Ferrari is not alone in facing these challenges, and few ultraluxury rivals are rushing to go electric.

Lamborghini, for instance, does not plan a full-electric car until the end of the decade.

But, according to AlixPartners' Duse, Ferrari must weigh its options more carefully than Lamborghini, which has a deep-pocketed owner in VW.

"For Ferrari, which unlike Lamborghini does not have access to a development platform like that of VW, the issue of investments is also certainly relevant," Duse said.

Among its options, Ferrari is researching hydrogen fuel cells, a future zero-emission solution touted by Asian automakers and the likes of BMW in Europe that can match the sustained power of combustion engines.

British startup Viritech is already building a hydrogen hypercar, with input from Italian auto design house Pininfarina, a limited-edition vehicle weighing 2,200 pounds that it aims to use to sell the technology to automakers.

CEO Timothy Lyons says over the last 18 months Viritech has seen a "huge spike in interest" from conventional automakers in the concept.

But hydrogen fuel cell cars need infrastructure for producing "green" hydrogen using renewable energy and fueling stations, which are unlikely to be in place until the 2030s.

Vigna said Ferrari is also working with four partners in Europe and Asia on battery components to research the next generation of high energy density solid-state batteries, which are lighter than today's cells.

Automakers such as Ford and BMW have invested in solid-state batteries, but the technology is still some years away from use in cars.

"Solid-state batteries are turning into a bit like the hydrogen story in that it's a fuel of the future," Jefferies Houchois said.

He warned Ferrari's slow pace of change could be seen as dragging its feet, or even "socially wrong."

"But from a business standpoint, they have got a great business and it does not have to go away that quickly," he added.

"They are avoiding excessive commitments that they can get to a certain point by a certain date at a certain price because they do not know."