It looks like simple math. When you need to make money, build an SUV and your customers will shake your hands. It also works fantastically in the world of super sports brands. And this year is to be the year of Ferrari.
At the same time, if someone had said out loud in Italy twenty years ago that the famous Ferrari would build and sell an SUV, the locals would probably suffocate him with pizza and the body would never be found again. Thinking about a domestic car treasure like this just wouldn’t work. Once.
But the year is 2022. The year seventy-five years of existence is probably the most famous car manufacturer in the world. And what will be part of the celebrations? Introducing Ferrari’s first SUV. If the marketing department in Maranello does not surprise the whole world, it will get the long-coveted name Purosangue – translated as “thoroughbred”.
Ferrari is trying to avoid the term SUV (Sport Utility Vehicle). Purosangue does not seem to be a giant wardrobe and the question of the size of the trunk or, God forbid, the third row of seats will not be the main topic.
That is why the former head of the car manufacturer Louis Camilleri replaced the acronym SUV with three letters FUV (Ferrari Utility Vehicle), in an effort to indicate that the Italian legend will go its own way here as well.
Why is Ferrari entering this segment? Because he earns. He earns a lot. It’s that simple. All you have to do is drive some forty kilometers from Maranello to Sant’Agata Bolognese, the home of Lamborghini, where they turned the idea of building their own SUV into reality a few years earlier.
The first SUV concept from Lamborghini appeared in 2012, three years after the global crisis, which also affected Lamborghini. At that time, annual sales fell by more than a third and the annual loss rose to $ 50 million. The only advantage at the time was perhaps that the annual waiting time for a new car was halved. But only customers who had enough money for the Lamborghini, regardless of the crisis, appreciated it.
The task of the first concept was to test what the world has to say. And the world muttered and shook its head. But at the same time, as he spent years, he spent huge money on SUVs of other brands.
The richest left them in Porsche showrooms. They left the SUV model Cayenne since 2002, which for many years became the best-selling car of the entire brand. And that again became the most lucrative part of the Volkswagen Group.
Therefore, despite the initial reactions, Lamborghini continued to prepare its Urus, which celebrated its fourth anniversary in mid-December. And the sales numbers show how clever it was.
And it doesn’t matter that a giant with an eight-cylinder engine, 650 horsepower and the ability to accelerate from zero to 100 in 3.6 seconds costs 5.5 million in crowns. Moreover, practically no one buys Urus with this money, because the optional equipment can easily raise the price several million higher.
Urus immediately became the most sought-after car on the Lamborghini offer, and the carmaker’s sales and turnover began to break records. Turnover rose 40 percent year on year from € 1.009 billion in 2018 when Urus first went on sale, to $ 1.415 billion in 2019 and € 1.81 billion in 2020.
By the end of last year, sixteen thousand Lamborghini Urus had left the world. And in order to satisfy the growing orders, the carmaker, which still produces cars with a large share of manual labor, has hired an additional seven hundred people (currently 1,800) and doubled its production area from 80,000 square meters. And all because of one SUV.
Now it’s Ferrari’s turn and his Purosangue. Although the interest in it will certainly be huge, according to Richard Vegera, this car will also respect the brand’s philosophy. This means two things – relatively few will be produced compared to the competition and will have one of the highest prices in its segment.
Even so, those interested in working in a car factory with a prancing horse can slowly start writing a resume. Unless a major problem arises after launch, and this is not what Ferrari does, their hands will be needed.
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