Ferrari Promises No End to its ICE Powered Cars

Paul Myles

TU-Editor

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15th May 2023

Italian automotive icon, Ferrari, has promised to keep building cars powered by internal combustion engines for a long as customers want them.

The heartening news for most fans of sporting cars comes with the company’s chief executive officer, Benedetto Vigna, saying it would be “arrogant” to dictate what the brand’s consumers should buy and that ICE technology was part of the brand’s heritage. In an interview with the BBC, Vigna said: “We have to cope with the rules of all the countries we operate in. The reason we have three kinds of propulsion, ICE, hybrid and electric, is that it allows us to cope with any regulation, all over the world. I don’t want to be arrogant and impose a choice on our client. It is the client who must choose if they want an ICE, a hybrid or an electric car.”

The move underlines the brand’s power in the market-place that it can ignore the possibility of being banned from selling new vehicles in regions that promote ICE bans, such as the UK which still clings to its proposed ban in 2030 even when the European Union has revoked its ban and will now allow carbon neutral ICE fuel powered new cars beyond 2035. Nevertheless, Ferrari is planning to launch its first BEV in 2025 with a design the company says will offer a “unique driving experience”. However, the boss of hypercar rival McLaren, Michael Leiters, told the recent Financial Times’ ‘Future of the Car’ summit that the technology was “not ready” for use in supercars, because of the huge extra weight of the battery packs.

— Paul Myles is a seasoned automotive journalist based in Europe. Follow him on Twitter @Paulmyles_