It appears that Ferrari’s electric future has taken a back seat. Despite the industry’s general push towards electrification, the Italian marque is quietly putting plans on the back burner for its second battery-powered model. According to a recent report by Reuters, the car that was originally slated for a 2026 debut will now arrive no earlier than 2028. The simple reason for the delay? Zero demand. Sources close to the matter say that even with a Ferrari badge, a high-performance EV just isn’t cutting it with buyers. Reuters notes that while Ferrari declined to comment, insiders have cited soft market appetite as the driving force behind this delay and not any engineering challenges.
However, this delay doesn’t affect Ferrari’s first electric car, which is on track for an October 2026 release. This inaugural EV will be more of a symbolic milestone, rather than a volume seller. Co-designed by former Apple design chief Sir Jony Ive, the upcoming all-electric model is expected to cost north of $500,000 and debut over a slow three-phase reveal beginning this fall.
That lines up with our earlier reporting back in early May, where CEO Benedetto Vigna reaffirmed the brand’s insistence on developing strategic components in-house, including the patent-pending virtual engine and transmission system, meant to simulate the visceral experience of driving a combustion-powered car. Besides the Pininfarina Battista, models like the Hyundai Ioniq 5N with the simulated gear-shifts that sync with engine-like noises are amongst just a handful of EVs to have captured something that’s truly missing in electric cars: driver engagement. After all, it’s not just about breakneck speed, but the overall theater that a Ferrari offers, with one of the most defining features being the high-revving engine note.
But it seems that imitation alone won’t move the market, as this new development at Ferrari places it with its peers. Lamborghini recently pushed its EV debut to 2029, and Maserati has outright cancelled the electric MC20, and Porsche has slashed Taycan production. Having said that, brands like Mercedes-AMG, Jaguar, Lotus, and Polestar, have truly committed to electrification. The reality is that most wealthy buyers aren’t clamoring for a battery-powered vehicle at the upper end of the segment, and the slow sales of the Rolls-Royce Spectre and Rimac Nevera support this.
Ironically, for Ferrari, their new $200 million state-of-the-art e-building facility north of Maranello, meant to support its electrified future, is nearly complete, as the company expected 60% of its lineup via hybrids and EVs to be electrified by 2026. But with global EV momentum slowing, particularly in the luxury and performance segments, Ferrari’s move to wait it out could be ideal.
Source: Reuters