Ferrari will add electric cars to its portfolio without abandoning combustion engines or hybrids, as it seeks to protect driving emotion and customer choice amid tightening global regulations, chief executive officer Benedetto Vigna said at IIT Bombay’s E-Summit 2025.
The Italian luxury sports carmaker, best known for its V12 engines and racing heritage, plans to run multiple powertrain strategies in parallel rather than pursue an all-electric transition. Vigna said Ferrari’s approach to electrification is rooted in emotion, not regulation-driven timelines.
“Today we are adding to our portfolio of cars, that is combustion and hybrid, we are adding the electric cars,” he said. “We are not transitioning only to electric cars.”
Emotion Before Technology
Vigna framed Ferrari’s electrification strategy around what he called “emotion-driven innovation.” He said there are three ways companies innovate: pushing technology to market, waiting for demand, or starting from human emotion.
“What we are doing at Ferrari is the most important one,” he said. “We need to start from human beings, understand their needs, and address them in the right way.”
Ferrari already sells hybrid models such as the SF90 Stradale and 296 GTB and GTS. The company has confirmed that its first full battery-electric Ferrari will debut in 2026, though details remain limited. Vigna said electrification is not new territory for Ferrari.
“That journey started way back, 16 years ago, with the hybrid car,” he said.
Ferrari’s future portfolio will include ICE engines with six, eight and 12 cylinders, hybrid powertrains, and electric cars. “It will be the client selecting,” Vigna said. “It is important to leave the freedom of choice to the client.”
Making Electric Ferrari Feel Like a Ferrari
One of the biggest challenges for electric sports cars, Vigna acknowledged, is preserving driving engagement. “There are two things that people don’t like when they drive electric cars,” he said. “One is the weight. The second is the lack of engagement.”
Electric cars, he said, are often too heavy. “Usually electric cars are like elephants,” he said. “But our electric car will be like a prancing horse.” Ferrari’s electric model will weigh under two tonnes, he said, supported by active systems to mask mass during driving.
The second issue is linear power delivery. “When you drive an electric car, it’s like a motorbike without gear change,” he said. Ferrari is addressing this through what it calls “torque shift engagement.”
“Our electric Ferrari will have torque shift, engagement,” Vigna said. “When you drive a thermal Ferrari, when you drive an electric Ferrari, the way you drive it, the way you are engaged is the same.”
He added that Ferrari has filed several patents and worked closely with universities to engineer this driving feel.
Carbon-Neutral Fuels Still Matter
Vigna also pushed back against the idea that electrification is the only route to sustainability. He said internal combustion engines can remain relevant through carbon-neutral fuels.
“I like to call biofuel and e-fuel carbon-neutral fuel,” he said. While acknowledging high costs today, Vigna said innovation could reduce prices over time.
“Will this be enough for all the cars? No,” he said. “But they will be good for small volume cars like Ferraris.”
In his view, electric and carbon-neutral fuels will coexist. “They are two ways to power different kinds of Ferrari in the future,” he said.
Ferrari CEO’s comments come as India’s electric passenger vehicle market continues to scale from a small base. India’s electric car industry has clocked record sales of 160,000 units so far in 2025, accounting for around 4-5 percent of total passenger vehicle volumes. Growth has been led by Tata Motors, JSW MG Motor and Mahindra, with new launches expanding choice.
However, analysts say adoption remains constrained by charging infrastructure, pricing and consumer uncertainty, even as forecasts point to steady growth by the end of the decade. Luxury EV volumes remain niche, with most demand concentrated in mass-market segments.
Ferrari currently sells a tightly controlled global lineup that includes the SF90 Stradale, 296 GTB and GTS hybrids, Roma Spider, 812 Competizione, and the Purosangue. Its first fully electric model will add a new dimension to that range.
For Ferrari, Vigna said, leadership is about daring rather than fear. “A company can be called a leader if it is not scared about the future,” he said. “If a company starts to be afraid, it does not deserve anymore to be called a leader. We are a leader, we want to be a leader.”