In a meeting with Ferrari Chief Marketing Officer Enrico Galliera on Friday morning, the executive told The Drive that a recent Bloomberg.com report alleging that Ferrari had urged its customers to buy a Luce EV to gain access to or move up the waiting list for high-trim “Special Series” models is categorically “untrue.”
When asked if Ferrari had done so, or planned on doing so, the executive said the following:
“No, I was mad because we don’t respect what is written in this article, and it’s totally not correct,” Galliera told The Drive. “Let me say why: because since the very beginning, we made clear to our clients that this car is designed for a different target audience.
“We are happy for our clients who’d like to buy, but we need to make sure that whoever is buying this car is convinced to buy this car—it doesn’t have to be forced. And there is a simple explanation for that: based on the experience we have seen in the markets for previous [models], if you sell a car to a client who doesn’t want to buy it, they will become the first negative ambassador,” said Galliera.
Bloomberg cites conversations with various clients who had reportedly been contacted by Ferrari and told that buying a Luce would help or guarantee they would keep their place among the brand’s top clients. Likewise, the report notes that new buyers were also motivated to buy the EV to gain access to higher models.
To Galliera, who oversees the marketing strategy for the Italian automaker and works closely with product development to shape Ferrari’s offerings, the concept of forcing a customer to buy a car they don’t want only generates frustration. Furthermore, this would eventually reflect poorly on Maranello and tarnish the close relationship it enjoys with its clients.
“If a customer is forced to buy a vehicle and says ‘I don’t like it,’ then they will destroy the value of the product, which is what happened to some other EV labels in the market,” said Galliera.
“Our message has been very clear. This car is not going to be forced on people, it should be given only to the client who would like to buy it,” he added. “I’d like to repeat this: Luce is another variety in our lineup, so the benefits the client gets from buying one are the same as with any other Ferrari. Buying a Luce complements their garage, but does not give the right or push to buy something else.”
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