Ferrari foolishly resists EVs, calls ICE ‘an essential part of the company’s heritage’
Ferrari (RACE) will continue to develop and build internal combustion engines (ICE) well into the late 2030s despite calls from several of its key markets to adopt EVs. According to Ferrari’s CEO, the automaker will continue to build ICE vehicles as “an essential part of the company’s heritage.”
Ferrari still resists EVs and will continue to build ICE cars
Although Ferrari models are known for quick acceleration, the automaker is moving at a sluggish pace toward zero-emission electric vehicles.
Although most automakers are targeting at least 30% to 50% EV sales by 2025, Ferrari plans to release its first fully electric vehicle that year, making up just 5% of total sales by 2026.
For some time now, Ferrari has resisted pure EVs citing the technology as “not ready” for use in supercars. Despite this, electric technology offers more power and instant torque.
Several startups and automakers are advancing technology to prove it, such as the all-electric Lotus Evija, with over 2,000 hp (1,500 kW) and 1,256 lb-ft of torque (1,704 Nm) for an impressive 0 to 186 mph in just over nine seconds.
Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna recently told the BBC that the company would be “arrogant” to dictate what customers can buy despite calls for sustainable transportation. Vigna added that Ferrari would continue to resist EVs and instead build ICE cars, building on “an essential part of the company’s heritage.”
Despite several major auto markets banning the sale of new ICE vehicles, the EU recently agreed on a synthetic e-fuels provision, giving Ferrari the green light to continue building ICE vehicles.
Last year, Ferrari revealed it would strive to become carbon neutral across its value chain by 2030 through new renewable energy and materials, in addition to the automaker’s electrification journey.
Ferrari currently offers four hybrid models but still has no pure EV plans until 2025. The automaker expects fully electric vehicles to represent 40% of its fleet by the end of the decade.
Electrek’s Take
Ferrari is missing the idea here. As many automakers are using the electric era to redesign the brand, Ferrari is sticking to its “heritage.”
As the late Steve Jobs, one of the most influential disruptors of all time, once famously said:
Some people say give the customers what they want, but that’s not my approach. Our job is to figure out what they’re going to want before they do. I think Henry Ford once said, ‘If I’d ask customers what they wanted, they would’ve told me a faster horse.’ People don’t know what they want until you show it to them. That’s why I never rely on market research. Our task is to read things that are not yet on the page.
We are already seeing this happen in the auto industry, with the Tesla Model Y on track to become the best-selling passenger vehicle globally. In fact, both the Tesla Model Y and Model 3 cracked the top ten best-selling cars globally last year.
Although Ferrari has built a solid image over the years as one of the top sports car makers, buyers’ habits are changing. Consumers are becoming less concerned with brands and more with a vehicle’s performance and technology.
Ferrari waiting until 2025 to launch its first EV, delaying electrification further, could cost it in the long run. Buyers are converting to electric at a record pace, and the technology will only continue to advance from here, resulting in more power, less weight, and reduced costs.
If Ferrari doesn’t build an electric supercar, plenty of startups and other automakers are looking to take its place in the luxury sports car market.
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Executives from TravelCenters America (TA) and BP were joined by local elected officials at a ribbon cutting for the two companies’ first DC fast charging hub on I-95 in Jacksonville, Florida – the first of several such EV charging stations to come online.
Frequent road-trippers are no doubt familiar with TA’s red, white, and blue logo and probably think of the sites as safe, convenient stops in otherwise unfamiliar surroundings. The company hopes those positive associations will carry over as its customers continue to switch from gas to electric at a record pace in 2025 and beyond.
“Today marks a significant milestone in our journey to bring new forms of energy to our customers as we support their changing mobility needs, while leveraging the best of bp and TA,” explains Debi Boffa, CEO of TravelCenters of America. Boffa, however, was quick to – but TA is quick to point out that TA isn’ no’t leaving its ICE customers behind. “While this is significant, to our loyal customers and guests, rest assured TA will continue to provide the same safe and reliable fueling options it has offered for over 50 years, regardless of the type of fuel.”
The charging hub along the I-95 offers 12 DC fast charging ports offering up to 400kW of power for lickety-quick charging. While they’re at the TA, EV drivers can visit restrooms, shop at TA’s convenience store, or eat at fast food chains like Popeyes and Subway. Other TA centers offer wifi and pet-friendly amenities as well – making them ideal partners for BP as the two companies builds out their charging networks.
“As we expand our EV charging network in the US, I am thrilled to unveil our first of many hubs at TA locations,” offers Sujay Sharma, CEO of BP Pulse Americas. “These sites are strategically located across key highway corridors that provide our customers with en route charging when and where they need it most, while offering convenient amenities, like restaurants and restrooms.”
Electrek’s Take
As I type this, BP has more than 37,000 EV charging ports operational globally, and plans to have more than 100,000 in service by 2030. The company made headlines in 2022 when it announced that its EV chargers were “on the cusp” of being more profitable than its gas pumps. Three years on, it seems like that’s a done deal.
As ever, money talks.
SOURCE | IMAGES: BP.
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The new e2500-THL and TS electric Ultra Buggies from Toro offer construction and demo crews a carrying capacity of 2500 lbs. (on the TS model), six-and-a-half foot dump height (on the THL), nearly 13 cubic ft. of capacity, and hours of quiet, fume-free operation.
Despite the second Trump administration’s loosening grip on emissions regulations, the fact remains that a growing number of municipalities in both red and blue regions of the US are continuing to clamp down on noise regulations, which means that construction crews with quiet running electric equipment will be able to get jobs that crews stubbornly holding on to diesel and gas won’t. Toro absolutely gets it, which is why its e2500-THL and TS Ultra Buggy line will be welcomed by smart crews with open arms.
For their open-mindedness, those crews will be rewarded with machines powered by 7 kWh’s worth of Toro HyperCell lithium-ion battery. That’s good enough for up to eight hours of continuous operation, according to Toro – enough for two typical working shifts.
And, thanks to the Toro Ultra Buggies’ narrow, 31.5″ width, they can easily navigate man doors on inside jobs, as well, making them ideal for indoor demolition and construction jobs. A zero-turn radius and auto-return dump mechanism that ensures the tub automatically returns to the proper resting position make things easy for the operator, too.
Toro says that each of its small (for Toro) e2500 Ultra Buggy units can replace as many as five wheelbarrows on a given job site. Pricing is expected to start at about $32,000.
Electrek’s Take
Electric equipment makes job sites cleaner, quieter, and safer than they are under diesel or gas power – and as more municipal and private sector RFPs begin to enforce ZEV requirements and quiet hours, more and more viable electric alternatives to ICE power will start to show up on more and more job sites (regardless of who is in the White House).
SOURCE | IMAGES: Toro, via Construction Equipment.
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