Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said orders are already rolling in for the $640,000 Luce, the brand’s first fully electric vehicle – despite an explosion of criticism attacking the design and exorbitant price tag.
“Look at the people writing to us, the people placing orders,” he said Thursday at an event in Modena, Italy, as he sought to staunch the backlash. “Some are existing clients and others are new.”
Car fanatics have accused the Maranello, Italy-based sports car maker of breaking from its legacy with its first-ever five-seater, designed by former Apple exec Jony Ive’s firm, which will use new-age tech to replicate the sound of its iconic engine growl. The ride was unveiled on Monday.
Critics have blasted the look of the Luce as a “monstrosity,” with one Reddit user comparing it to a “wooden IKEA toy” – and several others likening it to much-cheaper vehicles like the Nissan Leaf, an electric SUV that starts around $30,000.
“The Ferrari Luce has nothing to do with electric cars you have seen from other players,” Vigna said Thursday as he tried to squash the comparisons. “You have to see it and drive it to understand that it wasn’t copied – not the interiors, not the exterior, not the performance.”
“Innovation has to be paid for,” he added, defending the vehicle’s sky-high price tag. “If you don’t pay for innovation, you wrong the people working on it, the supply chain that makes it possible and the technology itself.”
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