The Ferrari Luce has elicited strong reactions since its late-May debut. It looks unlike anything the automaker has ever made, and the backlash to the design has shocked and pleased the Italian automaker.
In an interview with Edmunds, Emanuele Carando, Ferrari's global marketing director, said the automaker was prepared to receive polarizing reactions to the Luce. What the company did not expect was the "magnitude" of the backlash— but that hasn’t upset Carando.
He told the publication that he’s actually "very pleased" with the reactions as a marketing director, adding that everybody loves Ferrari “and everybody has a right to say something about it.”
Despite the strong reactions, Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna has defended the company’s first battery-electric vehicle. He revealed days after the debut that the company had received “strong interest.”
That includes new clients, some of whom have already placed deposits. Late last month, a story alleged that Ferrari had sold out of all the allocated Luces in China, although the company is still taking orders.
The Luce Haters
Shortly after Ferrari unveiled the Luce, former company boss Luca di Montezemolo, who served as chairman from 1991 to 2014, criticized the car. He said that his true thoughts would “be doing Ferrari a disservice.”
He added that the car runs the risk of “destroying a legend” and hopes “they at least remove the prancing horse from the car.” Di Montezemolo even went as far as to say that the Luce will “certainly be a car that at least the Chinese won’t copy,” referencing the Asian’s country's willingness to plagiarize Western designs.
Even Wall Street showed its displeasure at Ferrari’s first EV. In the United States, shares for the Italian automaker fell 4.6 percent the morning after the Luce’s reveal—they have since recovered.
Motor1’s Take: Ferrari seems quite bullish about the Luce, but it might be saving face, too. We will get our first indication of just how many people want the EV at the end of July when the automaker reveals its second-quarter financial results, and the internet will know just how popular it actually is.
