Coverage spread: 2 sources — 2 center
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Ferrari has hit its 2026 sales target for the Luce, its first fully electric vehicle, just two months after the car was widely ridiculed online for its design. According to the Financial Times, Ferrari had set a goal of selling 500 units of the Luce in 2026, and the company appears to be well on pace to meet that figure, putting it on track for its longer-term target of 2,500 units sold by 2030. The Luce carries a price tag of roughly $640,000.
A Rocky Design Debut
When the Luce was unveiled in May, it drew heavy criticism and online mockery, largely over its styling, which was shaped through a collaboration between Ferrari and former Apple designer Jony Ive’s firm, LoveFrom. The car departs sharply from Ferrari’s traditional look, featuring rounded body surfaces, unusually large wheels, and four doors instead of the two-door layout common to most Ferrari models. The backlash was severe enough that Ferrari’s shares dropped 8% in a single day following the reveal. Even Luca di Montezemolo, Ferrari’s former president and chairman for two decades, publicly criticized the vehicle at its unveiling, saying he wished the company would remove the Ferrari “prancing horse” badge from the car and joking that it was “definitely a car that, at least, the Chinese won’t copy.”
Strategy Behind the Luce
Despite the design controversy, Ferrari has positioned the Luce as a vehicle meant to attract wealthy buyers in China and Silicon Valley who are already accustomed to driving EVs, rather than to convert its traditional gas-engine customer base. Notably, the Financial Times reported that Ferrari has instructed its dealers not to pressure longtime buyers of its combustion-engine cars into switching to the electric model. CEO Benedetto Vigna said this week that he was “very pleased with how orders are proceeding” for the new car, per Reuters.
Second-Quarter Earnings and Raised Guidance
The sales news arrived alongside broader positive financial results. Ferrari reported second-quarter revenue of 1.94 billion euros (about $2.2 billion), beating Wall Street expectations, according to CNBC, citing LSEG-compiled estimates. The company posted an operating profit of 605 million euros (a 31.2% margin) and a net profit of 463 million euros, up about 9% from a year earlier. Ferrari raised its full-year 2026 guidance to roughly 7.6 billion euros ($8.7 billion) in revenue, up from a prior forecast of 7.5 billion euros, along with slightly higher projected adjusted earnings (now at least 2.97 billion euros, or 9.68 euros in adjusted EPS, up from 2.93 billion euros/9.45 euros) and modest increases to industrial free cash flow and operating profit forecasts.
Vigna attributed the strong results to a “sustained trend in personalizations” and resilient demand, noting that Ferrari’s order book is already full through 2027. RBC Capital Markets analyst Tom Narayan called the timing of the guidance increase notable, observing that Ferrari typically waits until the third quarter to raise guidance, and interpreted the early move as a positive signal for the rest of the year that could push shares higher. Ferrari shares rose more than 2% in morning trading following the announcement.
Broader EV Market Headwinds
Ferrari’s EV success stands in contrast to a struggling broader electric vehicle market, particularly in the United States, which represents about a quarter of Ferrari’s sales. Fortune reports that after President Trump eliminated the federal EV tax credit in September, U.S. EV sales fell 49% month-over-month in October per Cox Automotive data, and were down 28% year-over-year the following month, with EVs accounting for just 5.4% of total new vehicle sales — a decline from May. Rivals have also retreated: Lamborghini, owned by Volkswagen via Audi, canceled its planned $300,000 electric model, the Lanzador, in 2025, with CEO Stephan Winkelmann saying the market and customers were “not ready.” Ferrari itself scaled back its ambitions in October, lowering its target for all-electric models from 40% to 20% of its lineup by 2030.
How the Coverage Compares
Fortune’s account centers on the contrast between the Luce’s rocky, mocked debut and its surprising commercial success, weaving in the wider EV market downturn and competitor retreats as context for why Ferrari’s performance is notable. CNBC’s report focuses more narrowly and technically on the second-quarter earnings figures, guidance increase, and analyst reaction, with less attention to the design controversy or design collaboration with Jony Ive. Both outlets agree on the core facts: strong Luce order momentum, raised 2026 guidance, and CEO Vigna’s optimistic comments, but Fortune supplies the reputational and market-context narrative while CNBC supplies more granular financial detail and analyst perspective.
Why It Matters
The episode illustrates how a product that faced intense public ridicule and an immediate stock hit can still perform commercially, especially in a luxury segment where scarcity, personalization, and brand loyalty may outweigh design consensus. It also highlights a divergence between the ultra-luxury EV segment, where wealthy buyers in markets like China and Silicon Valley remain interested, and the mainstream EV market, which is contracting in the U.S. amid the loss of tax incentives and hesitancy from competitors like Lamborghini.
Sources
Featured photo: Mr.choppers via Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)