Ferrari Hopes Its F16X Crossover Will Help Profits Double by 2022, Report Says

Can you say “cash grab?”

byJames Gilboy|
Ferrari Hopes Its F16X Crossover Will Help Profits Double by 2022, Report Says
Share

0

With crossovers making up an increasing portion of almost every brand's sales, even ultra-conservative premium brands are buying into the crossover fad. Ferrari has apparently decided it also wants a piece of the crossover market pie. 

Not long ago, we learned that Ferrari was working on a vehicle that isn't an SUV, but is nevertheless a "UV," and that it has been codenamed the F16X, according to Car. Since the odds of it being body-on-frame are slim, referring to the F16X as a unibody crossover is a safe bet. This new vehicle is part of a plan to double the marque's profits by 2022, according to Bloomberg. Ferrari is hoping to exceed 10,000 annual sales with the help of the upcoming crossover, and in China alone, Ferrari is aiming to sell 2,000 annually. The increased sales will bring the brand under more scrutiny from environmental agencies, who will tighten restrictions on fuel economy once five figure sales are hit.

Little is known about the impending crossover. The debut is set for 2021, but beyond that, little is set in stone. Even the body style is undecided, with both two and four door designs in consideration. We speculate a hybrid powertrain will be tested to keep fuel economy and noxious emissions above legal minimums when Ferrari loses their small manufacturer classification in parts of the U.S. and Europe, which shields them from a need to conform to the same safety and environmental standards that mass-market global makes like Ford, Peugeot, and Toyota are held to.

Other premium brands have already jumped aboard the crossover bandwagon, and more still are jumping on. Bentley's sales soared by 52.7 percent after the introduction of the Bentayga, and JLR's company-wide sales jumped 34.5 percent due to the F-Pace alone. Even Lamborghini is jumping in, but not with anything descended from the LM002. No, the Lamborghini crossover is the Renault-faced, Audi-engined Urus. If competition in the premium crossover market is weak enough for a vehicle like the Urus to make it beyond concept sketches, Ferrari should have no trouble competing in the bubbling new market segment.

stripe