Ferrari shares fell sharply on Tuesday morning after the luxury automaker unveiled its first fully electric vehicle, News.Az reports, citing CNBC.

The Maranello, Italy-based sports car manufacturer introduced the Luce, which means “light,” at a launch event in Rome. The company said the name was chosen to “evoke clarity and direction.”

The debut marks a major shift away from Ferrari’s traditional design philosophy, coming at a time when other luxury carmakers, including Porsche and Lamborghini, have scaled back or reconsidered their electric vehicle plans due to weakening demand.

Ferrari shares were last down 6.3% on Tuesday morning, recovering slightly after earlier declines. The stock, listed in Milan, has fallen nearly 27% over the past year.

Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna described the launch of the Luce as a “very, very important day” for the company, calling it the beginning of “a new chapter” in its history.

When asked whether Ferrari could balance the expectations of new customers with its traditional clientele, Vigna told CNBC’s Charlotte Reed: “Look, when you do a new technology, you need always to keep in mind a word that is called respect.”

“Respect of the technology, because when you have a new technology, you need to make sure that that technology is properly represented in the design, so the design must be different,” he added.

Vigna also said the company respects the different needs and preferences of its customers, adding that existing Ferrari clients would be interested in the Luce, while the fully electric model would also attract new buyers.

The Luce, Ferrari’s first-ever five-seater vehicle, can accelerate from 0 to 60 miles per hour in around 2.5 seconds and reach a top speed of approximately 192 miles per hour.

Priced at about 550,000 euros (around $640,000), deliveries of the Luce are scheduled to begin in the fourth quarter of the year.

Ferrari said the vehicle was developed and manufactured entirely in-house in Maranello, while its design was handled by LoveFrom, a design firm founded by former Apple design chief Jony Ive.

Vigna added that the Luce aims to deliver “the same sensation” as traditional Ferrari models, while acknowledging that the sound of the electric engine is different, noting that “each engine has its own sound.”

“What is important is the emotion that is [being given] to the driver,” he said.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev