Ferrari boss says e-fuel cars don’t compromise carbon goals

Ferrari’s plans to continue building internal combustion engine cars powered by so-called e-fuels does not conflict with its target to become carbon neutral by 2030, its CEO said on Tuesday.

“The two (targets) are very much compatible,” Benedetto Vigna told the Financial Times’ Future of the Car conference.

Vigna had previously welcomed an EU decision to exempt cars that run on e-fuels from its planned 2035 phase-out — or 2036 for so-called small volume manufacturers like Ferrari — of combustion engine vehicles.

“We thought this (EU decision) was happening in 2025 or 2026, it has happened two years before and this is very good for us, because you can run a thermal car with a fuel that is (carbon) neutral,” Vigna said.

E-fuels are made by synthesising captured CO2 emissions and hydrogen produced using renewable or CO2-free electricity.

Ferrari, renowned for its powerful petrol engines, is already producing plug-in hybrid cars and has promised its first full-electric vehicle for 2025. However, it has never provided a road map for going all electric.

Presenting its business plan last year, Ferrari said fully-electric and hybrid models would make up 80% of those in its range by 2030, while 20% would still be powered by internal combustion engines.

Vigna on Tuesday also reiterated Ferrari, which sold more than 13,200 cars in 2022, had no plans to widely expand production despite recently reopening orders for its new four-door, four-seater model Purosangue, for which requests were much higher than expected.

“We don’t want to make 50-60% of our volumes with just one model,” he said.

“When you are on a road and you see too many times in a day the same kind of car, our eyes get used to it ... you don’t perceive any more desirability”.