When Ferrari Says Never, They Simply Mean Not Now
Ferrari is not a car company. @Ferrari is a brand. The company sells roughly 13,000 vehicles a year, but millions of Ferrari hats are sold each year. Hats, along with sponsorships, commercial, and brand revenues accounted for 11.5% (€820 million) of Ferrari’s revenue in 2025, growing 22% year-over-year.
While this pales in comparison to the €6.005 billion the company made from selling actual Ferraris, it does highlight an important aspect that is often overlooked; Ferrari’s demographic is changing. In fact, 40% of all new Ferrari buyers are now under 40, up from 30% in 2023. What is driving this?
The four-door Purosangue SUV, which retails for $429,000.
Back in 2016, then-Ferrari Chairman Sergio Marchionne said, “you have to shoot me first” before the company would ever make an SUV. Then in September 2022, six years later, Ferrari unveiled the Purosangue.
Today, the Purosangue accounts for roughly 20% of sales, capped by the company to retain the exclusivity of the product. First, it was a hard no, and now it’s roughly 20% of sales.
That same year, Mr. Marchionne, known for his direct and blunt demeanor did not hold back when asked at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2016 if Ferrari would ever build an all-electric vehicle. In his typical fashion, he shot back; “With Ferrari, it’s almost an obscene concept.”
That comment either aged well or did not, depending on who you ask, as Ferrari’s first all-electric car, the Luce, co-designed by Sir Jony Ive and Marc Newson has been met with a wide array of emotions. No matter the reception, Ferrari said no once again, and yet they did the exact opposite.
First, it was no to an SUV. Then it was no to an all-electric Ferrari. And now, it’s no to an autonomous Ferrari.
Current CEO Benedetto Vigna recently said; “We will not make fully autonomous cars, loud and clear. We want the people to have fun, not the [computer] chips. We want to have a steering wheel and a man or a woman behind the steering wheel. Otherwise, why do you buy a Ferrari?”
Why would you want to buy an autonomous Ferrari? It is a status symbol and an experience. The future of autonomy will not be defined by who has the best technology; it will be defined by who has the best experience.
A $600,000 personally-owned Ferrari is an experience, and yes, there are people who will buy them. Just like there are people who take their Ferraris to the grocery store, simply because they can.
And yes, at some point, Ferrari will go 3 for 3. First it was no to an SUV, then an all-electric, and now autonomous. And guess what? At some point, Ferrari will say yes and produce an autonomous Ferrari.
Our Take: An autonomous Ferrari will be more profitable for the company than today’s traditional Ferrari, which already commands an average operating profit of $167,000 per vehicle.
With a six-figure profit margin in hand and the ability to charge for an Autonomous Ferrari Virtual Driver to drive their customers around in their $600,000 personally owned Ferrari, autonomy just became highly profitable, and for Ferrari, the brand was once again reimagined as times change.
This story was featured in This Week in The Autonomy Economy.
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