Ferrari will always make its cars in Italy, says CEO

NEW YORK: Ferrari will always make its luxury sports car in its hometown of Maranello, northern Italy, including its first fully electric model expected next year, chief executive Benedetto Vigna said on Tuesday.

And this will not change, despite new tariffs potentially being introduced on international markets, including the US following the election of Donald Trump as president.

"We make cars in Maranello," Vigna said at the Reuters NEXT forum for world leaders here, replying to a question if Ferrari would ever consider making cars in the US.

"We will sell cars in US, but we will make cars in Maranello."

Vigna said he did not anticipate any changes in demand as Trump will soon come into office. The president-elect has floated possible tariffs on European made goods.

"Our order book is pretty strong," Vigna said. "He decides what to do here, we will cope with those new rules... there will be tariffs for us, for everyone. It's good because when you have the realities changing around you, it's a way to foster more and more innovation."

Vigna, a former tech executive who took over as Ferrari CEO in 2021, reiterated on Tuesday the company would present its first fully-electric car in the fourth quarter of 2025.

Asked about its selling price, which Reuters reported earlier this year it would top 500,000 euros (RM2.4mil), Vigna said it would be set at the very last moment.

"It depends on the emotion that we are able to transmit with the car," he said.

Ferrari last year started accepting payments for its luxury cars in cryptocurrencies, but the CEO said the company was not investing in them.

"We wanted to provide the opportunity for clients ... In any case, we get cash - dollar or euro depending on the country. We love cash," Vigna said.

"We don't invest in crypto. We don't want to get crypto and speculate - it's a way to make purchase seamless."

Payments in cryptocurrencies started in the US last year and are currently also accepted at some European dealerships, Vigna said.

Vigna also said Ferrari was "very proud" of a deal it announced earlier on Tuesday, to supply engines and gearboxes to a new Cadillac Formula One team in a multi-year agreement from 2026 the company announced earlier on Tuesday.

"We are very glad of this selection, and this makes us proud," he said. "In our DNA is racing. We have been present in this sport, which is now becoming entertainment, since the beginning."