EVwire brief: Ferrari has launched its Luce EV sedan in China at 3,988,000 yuan ($586,600), and all 88 allocated units have already sold out.
The price undercuts Ferrari's own 550,000-euro ($626,000) European sticker by roughly 7%, arriving as the brand fights to hold on to share in China, the world's largest auto market.
Ferrari unveiled the Luce EV sedan in Rome in late May as the brand's first fully electric production model, co-designed with Jony Ive and Marc Newson. Its China rollout lands as domestic rivals sharpen their own halo cars and buyers grow pickier about paying a premium for less capable hardware.
The Luce made its Chinese debut in Shanghai last week
The Luce trails China's homegrown performance EVs on nearly every spec that shows up on a sheet. These include the BYD Yangwang U9 and the GAC Hyptec SSR, both of which are notably more affordable than the Luce.
Here’s how the Luce stacks up against a couple of China’s best.
Model | 0-100 km/h (0-62 mph) | Total power | Battery | Fast charging | Weight | China price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Ferrari Luce | 2.5 sec | 772 kW (1,036 hp) | 122 kWh | 350 kW | 2,260 kg (4,982 lbs) | $586,600 |
BYD Yangwang U9 | 2.36 sec | 960 kW (1,287 hp) | 80 kWh | 500 kW | 2,480 kg (5,467 lbs) | $264,800 |
GAC Hyptec SSR | 2.3 sec | 900 kW (1,207 hp) | 74.7 kWh | 160 kW | 1,990 kg (4,388 lbs) | $189,200 |
Compiled by CarNewsChina from Ferrari, BYD, and GAC figures.
Unlike the U9 and the SSR, the Luce isn't pitched as a performance flagship. Ferrari positions it as a five-seat grand tourer, a different lane from the domestic supercars nipping at its heels, though BYD's own Denza Z9 GT undercuts it on price with better numbers in a similar body style.
The Luce’s interior is one of the most unique in the industry, and it’s earned praise among enthusiasts and reviewers too
Context:
The launch also follows weeks of Ferrari publicly denying it pressured top clients into buying a Luce to jump the queue for higher-trim "Special Series" models. A Bloomberg report claimed buyers were told the EV would help secure or guarantee their standing with Maranello. Ferrari's former chief marketing officer called that "totally not correct" in comments to The Drive:
"No, I was mad because we don't respect what is written in this article, and it's totally not correct. [...] 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."
Chinese outlet Speedsters described the Luce as "4 million RMB on wheels" in its coverage of the launch (translated from Chinese, per CarNewsChina), shorthand for instant membership in the country's wealthiest 1%.
When it comes to the Luce, it seems like the spec sheet was never really the point. Eighty-eight Chinese buyers had a faster, cheaper Yangwang U9 sitting right down the road and picked the badge anyway.
Source: CarNewsChina, The Drive
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