Ferrari unveils first electric vehicle and cuts 2030 EV sales target

Shares of Ferrari posted their worst trading day ever on Thursday after the luxury carmaker updated its full-year and 2030 guidance and scaled back its electrification ambitions.

Analysts were disappointed by the new guidance, saying it fell short of expectations.

The Maranello, Italy-based sports car manufacturer said at its Capital Markets Day, or CMD, event that it expected net revenue of at least 7.1 billion euros ($10.7 billion) this year, up from a previous forecast of more than 7 billion euros.

Net revenue is expected to be around 9 billion euros in 2030, and the company is targeting earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization, or EBITDA, of at least 3.6 billion euros by 2030.

Ferrari’s Milan-listed stock price tumbled 16.1%, before paring some of its losses to close at 354 euros, down 15.4%. It was Ferrari’s worst trading day since the automaker publicly listed on the Milan stock exchange in early 2016.

U.S.-listed shares on the New York Stock Exchange closed down by 15% at $407.38 apiece, marking the stock’s worst trading day since Ferrari listed in October 2015. The stock’s largest single-day decline was previously 12.4% in February 2016.

The U.S.-listed shares, with a market cap of nearly $77 billion, are now down about 4% for the year.

Analysts at Citi said in a research note that Ferrari’s guidance “falls below our ‘lower growth case’ estimates from our CMD preview and reflects conservatism from management, we think.”

They added, “Given guidance, albeit conservative, implies limited operating leverage through the coming cycle we think there is some risk to both consensus EPS and multiples near-term.”

In a separate update, Ferrari said it would target a 2030 sports car model lineup made up of 40% internal combustion engine, or ICE, cars, 40% hybrid and 20% fully electric vehicles.

Ferrari said the revised target, which is down from a prior goal of 40% EV sales by the end of the decade, is the result of a client-centric approach, the current environment and its expected evolution.

The pivot comes as the Italian carmaker lifted the hood on the technology set to power its maiden electric vehicle. Ferrari unveiled the production-ready chassis and powertrain of the “elettrica” during a technology and innovation workshop, saying it would start deliveries of the model in late 2026.

The completed car is expected to be launched at a global premiere next year.

“With the new Ferrari elettrica, we once again affirm our will to progress by uniting the discipline of technology, the creativity of design and the craft of manufacturing,” John Elkann, executive chairman of Ferrari, said in a statement.

Several global carmakers have scaled back their EV sales targets in recent months, citing factors such a lack of affordable models, a slower-than-anticipated rollout of charging points and intense competition from China.

Sweden’s Volvo Cars, for instance, abandoned its heavily promoted plan to sell only EVs by 2030, saying in September last year that it needed to be “pragmatic and flexible” amid changing market conditions.

Ferrari, which has seen its current number of active clients grow to 90,000, an increase of 20% compared with 2022, also said it planned to launch an average of four new cars per year between 2026 and 2030.

Analysts at JPMorgan were bullish following the announcements laid out in Ferrari’s 2030 Strategic Plan.

“We have a great deal of confidence in management’s ability to execute on its long-term plan given ample evidence that demand currently far outstrips supply,” analysts at JPMorgan said Thursday in a research note.

“We also estimate the company benefits from CEO Benedetto Vigna’s leadership style, which has challenged the company to capitalise on collaboration to increase the speed at which it embraces innovation. An imminent Supercar launch may also have the potential to turbocharge profits,” they added.

— CNBC’s Michael Bloom and Michael Wayland contributed to this report.