Ferrari hybrid cars outsold those powered by gas in Q3

During the third quarter of this year, the automaker delivered 3,459 vehicles and over half were electric.

During the third quarter of 2023, Ferrari’s deliveries of hybrid cars outsold those with gasoline internal combustion engines (ICEs).

This revealed an important milestone in the vehicle sales from the luxury automaker in July to September.

From the start of July through to the end of September, Ferrari delivered a total of 3,188 vehicles. This represented an increase of 271 vehicles when compared to the third quarter of 2022. Among those vehicles, 51.3 percent were hybrid cars, and the remaining 48.7 percent were more traditional gasoline ICE vehicles.

During this year’s third quarter, the automaker’s product portfolio contained nine gasoline ICE models and four hybrids.  Despite having fewer options, it was from that latter category that the automaker delivered more than half of their total.

Hybrid cars are Ferrari’s greenest option right now, as a fully electric model isn’t expected until 2025.

Sales in the third quarter were driven by the SF90 and 296 lineups from the automaker, each of which have plug-in hybrid powertrains. They represent the first PHEVs from the company, since the earlier LaFerrari wasn’t made with a charging port.

Though Ferrari is continuing to develop gasoline ICE models, its future is headed in an electric direction as it will be required to comply with decarbonization regulations in countries and regions worldwide. The automaker has predicted that by the close of the decade, 40 percent of the vehicles it delivers to its customers won’t have ICEs. Another 40 percent are expected to be hybrid cars. Only the remaining 20 percent will be pure ICEs presumably running on conventional gasoline.

Will efuels be a game changer?

That said, this does open the door for efuels, such as hydrogen fuel.

“ICE still has a lot to do,” said Benedetto Vigna, CEO of Ferrari earlier in 2023. He also pointed out that “you can run a car with fuel that is neutral. I think that the two are very much compatible, and this is a reinforcement of our strategy.”

BMW has already shown that lightweight tank technology is possible to lighten hydrogen powered vehicles, opening doors for fuel cell vehicles and classic internal combustion engines alike.