FERRARI CONFRIMS A 'UTILITY VEHICLE' ' A FERRARI SUV!
The plan to build a Ferrari SUV has been a very mysterious topic in recent weeks, with Ferrari fans trying to guess what will come next. Reports have surfaced that the iconic Italian supercar maker is seriously considering a product push different to its traditional supercar fare in a bid to double profits by 2022.
Sergio Marchionne, Ferrari's CEO, has now stepped up to handle the speculation and announce the Ferrari spin on it! Speaking of the popular subject of a Ferrari SUV on a conference call, Marchionne said: "It will probably happen but it will happen in Ferrari style."
He added, "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 kind of utilitarian objective."
Sources at Bloomberg news have implied that the 'Ferrari Utility Vehicle' could be part of a new five-year-plan designed to boost sales further than Ferrari's current limit of 10,000 cars per year.
This self-imposed limit is designed to stay on the correct side of emissions rulings in some markets, but it also ensures a level of exclusivity for the brand.
Previously, Ferrari strongly denied that they would ever enter into the SUV segment and Marchionne has still reiterated that Ferrari will not be creating an SUV in the mould of those offered by manufacturers and that "you have to shoot me first" if it did. Rather, the SUV design would have a complete Ferrari spin on it.
"It has not been done to compete with Porsche," said Marchionne, making reference to the German brand's hugely profitable move into the SUV sector with the Porsche Cayenne.
To ensure that Ferrari can continue to grow sales without breaking emissions rules, it is understood that further hybridization of the Ferrari range is also under consideration.
According to Bloomberg News, we might be getting our first official linking of the brand's long-term plan in early 2018, which could line up with an FCA product briefing scheduled for early next year. If Ferrari does decide to enter the SUV avenue, it will be among the final acts of Marchionne, who will be stepping down as boss of the Fiat Chrysler Group in 2019, and bowing out of Ferrari in 2021.
Bloomberg has described an ideal, new "four-seat family car that offers more space than Ferrari's current two-door GT4CLusso", and this is centred mainly around Asian markets, with Chinese customers in Ferrari's marketing crosshairs.
Although Ferrari has always rejected rumours about entering the SUV market in the past, it seems to be positioning itself to avoid a complete U-turn by billing its utility vehicle as forming a new industry segment, rather than following in the footsteps of Bentley, Maserati and Lamborghini with traditional SUVs.
Will Ferrari produce an unimaginable SUV??