It was about a month ago that we reported on the rumor of Ferrari working on an SUV, a complete 180 from Ferrari Chairman (and Fiat Chrysler Automobiles CEO) Sergio Marchionne's “you have to shoot me first” answer when asked about this last year. That rumor has been revealed to be true.
During a conference call reporting second-quarter earnings, Marchionne confirmed that the Italian sports car builder is considering an expansion into utility vehicles and possibly reinvent the segment.
"It will probably happen but it will happen in Ferrari’s style,” said Marchionne.
"That space is too big and too inviting and we have a lot of our customers who will be more than willing to drive a Ferrari-branded vehicle that has that king of utilitarian objective."
Marchionne also reiterated the “you have to shoot me first” comment is if Ferrari comes up with something similar to the models from Bentley or Porsche.
Bloomberg learned from sources earlier in the week about Ferrari considering adding an SUV to their lineup in an effort to double profits by 2022. The model would be targeted at customers in Asia, particularly those in China. This could add an extra 2,000 sales for the company. But this could bring up a big problem for Ferrari. Currently, Ferrari produces under 10,000 vehicles a year to avoid various emission regulations. By possibly adding an SUV, Ferrari would now have to meet them. According to sources, Ferrari is planning on introducing more hybrid models beginning in 2019 to meet the various regulations.
Next year, Marchionne will be presenting his final five-year business plan for FCA and their various brands. We'll likely find out then if Ferrari is going forward on the utility vehicle.
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