Ferrari plans different path than Lamborghini, Porsche with first SUV

Maranello, ITALY -- Ferrari has no plans to follow Lamborghini and Porsche, which quickly double their global sales after debuting their first SUVs.

"The Purosangue will not account for more than 20 percent of the company's sales, on average," Ferrari marketing chief Enrico Galliera said here Thursday as the supercar maker revealed its plans for the next four years.

Keeping that level from growing could be difficult.

When asked how many orders Ferrari has already received for the Purosangue, Galliera answered said: "Demand is going to be a problem for the company, albeit a positive one."

He is bullish because after showing the SUV on Wednesday to current Ferrari owners in Maranello, "The reaction was overwhelming." He said most of those Ferrari loyalists "want to buy it," resulting in a huge order book.

The automaker has a history of selling out models even before they are officially unveiled by enticing its existing customers to add the company's latest models to their collections.

The Purosangue will be unveiled in September and shipments are expected to start in early 2023.

Analysts have wondered how much volume the Purosangue would add to Ferrari's overall sales. The company sold 11,155 cars in 2021, up from 9,119 the previous year.

Ferrari made clear, however, the new model will not have an impact similar to that of the Urus for Lamborghini or the Cayenne for Porsche.

"We do not want to double our volumes," Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna said.

By comparison, Porsche sold 54,234 cars in 2001, the year before it launched the Cayenne. By 2005 the German brand's volume was 96,794. Last year Porsche sold a record 301,915 cars, with the Cayenne and its small sibling, the Macan, combining to account for 57 percent of that total.

Lamborghini said this month the Urus became its all-time best-seller, doing in the shortest time in company history. Since its market debut in 2018, 20,000 units of the Urus have been built. Last year the Urus accounted for 60 percent of Lamborghini's record annual sales of 8,405.

Ferrari said last month the Purosangue will feature a V-12 aspirated gasoline engine.

Galliera added on Thursday that SUV is expected to "enhance the sport car offer in the Ferrari range."

Added Vigna: "Customers who have tried it agreed that it is really a sports car."