Despite waiting lists as long as three years for some cars, Ferrari’s chief executive said the company has no plans to ramp up production to meet demand.
“We’re a brand that doesn’t look for volume,” Ferrari Chief Executive Benedetto Vigna told CNBC in an exclusive interview at Pebble Beach. “We’re a brand that looks for value and respects the customer. Yes. For us, customers are very, very important.
“Customers assign value to our cars because they are unique, because they are limited, because they are unique,” he said. “We could make more, but it doesn’t make sense. We would offend our customers.”
For Ferrari, the balance between growth and exclusivity has never been more important.The company’s stock price has risen 44% in the past year, and its valuation is higher than ford or General Motorsshareholders are under pressure to continue strong sales and volume growth.
Ferrari NV CEO Benedetto Vigna is seen in front of a Ferrari Daytona SP3 sports car at the company’s headquarters in Maranello, Italy, Tuesday, February 7, 2023.
Francesca Volpi | Bloomberg | Getty Images
However, with the famous Prancing Horse brand built on scarcity and owners relying on limited production to maintain the value of their cars, Ferrari is also expected to keep a tight rein on production.
last yearFerrari produced 13,221 cars, an 18.5% increase over 2021. Demand still far exceeds supply, with dealers saying the wait time for the new Purosangue SUV and other models is three years or more. Many buyers said they couldn’t even get on the waiting list for the car because there simply wasn’t enough production.
Founder Enzo Ferrari once famously said that Ferrari would “produce one car less than the market demands”. The gap is much wider today, and some analysts say the company can easily sell twice as many cars as it produces. Ferrari is building a new factory for its hybrid and electric vehicles, but it’s unclear how much Ferrari will increase production.
purebred ferrari
Source: Ferrari
Despite limited supply, the company continues to expand its reach among younger, new customers, Vinia said. Its customer base has expanded for 10 consecutive quarters, with 30% of new customers being under the age of 40, he said.
“Our new clients are 10 percent younger than all of our clients in the world,” he said. “So the Prancing Horse kicks really hard.”
Vinia added that buying a Ferrari should never be easy or quick, as it is the ultimate ideal car.
“Obtaining a Ferrari is an experience that begins the first time you see a Ferrari,” he said. “It’s not something you can get easily.”
racing genes
However, it has not been easy for Ferrari to win in Formula One in recent years. Ferrari currently sits fourth in the F1 constructors’ standings behind Red Bull, Mercedes and Aston Martin. Vinia said the team’s main focus is improving the car.
“It’s very important to us because our DNA is accelerating,” he said. “We have a car that is by far the fastest, but it’s not the fastest on the track. So we have to keep improving.”
Wigner quoted Enzo Ferrari as saying: “Those who come after me will have to carry on a very simple legacy – to maintain the desire to improve in the past.”
“That’s what we have to do in racing and in everything we do,” Vinia said. “We have to keep working.”
Asked if famed Mercedes Formula 1 driver Lewis Hamilton might join Ferrari, Vinia said: “We have Charles (Leclerc) and Carlos (Sanz Jr.) and they are doing a fantastic job. Excellent. They’re friends, they’re competing.” So for us, the first priority was to make the car more competitive. “
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