The Ferrari 849 Testarossa has just been launched in India. In fact, it's been the biggest Ferrari launch in India. And the Ferrari CEO himself has come around to launch it. And I have Benedetto Vigna, Ferrari CEO. Benedetto, thanks for talking to us. And you know, first question, you're coming down here. It's a big statement. We've never had the global CEO come down. So obviously India is an important market, but just wanted to understand a market which sells just 50 cars a year. How important is it and what is the really strategic importance rather?
Thank you. First of all, it's a pleasure always to be with you and to talk about Ferrari. I think that in life, what is important is more to become than to be. It's true the market today is small, but what we believe is that this market offers unique opportunities for several reasons. Because there is a lot of passion for our brand, because there is a lot of passion for innovation, because the people, this is a young country, because also there's a lot of love for innovation, and because here the people behave like... you know, the purpose of our company is... in the purpose of our company we say we continuously redefine the limits of what's possible. The best word, the sentence in Hindi that represents this is...
You're learning Hindi now.
We'll come back to your India experience. You've been a lot in India, but you know, honestly Benedetto, being a 4.3 million market and if you look at the super luxury car, just a couple of thousand, it's just very, very small and it's not grown for a long time. So obviously we'll come to the EU-India FTA also which gives a lot of potential. So is that something that is driving you to look at India more closely because of the potential of obviously taxes coming down? You know, this car you've launched is over 10 crores, it's a lot of money for Indians and obviously very few markets. So just to get your sense on what are you seeing as the opportunity and even this segment of the market which is so small, it's just not grown for a long time.
I think that if I go to see in the world, India is unique because you are a country that is growing. You have a country where the number of HNWI, the high net worth individuals, is growing. Here many different sectors are doing well: high-tech, pharmaceutical, manufacturing. The wealth is growing and it's new money, and this goes hand in hand with the passion these people have with our brand. I think the story of the FTA with Europe is helping also. But I believe that I sense it. Okay. I sense that this is the place that could represent and will represent for us a good market. It's something that will take time because when you open a new market, it always takes time, but we have all the ingredients aligned. It makes sense for us to invest in a place. And as you said, we just had the first national event, the first brand event at a national scale that we are having here in India.
So I think there are a lot of ingredients that are pointing in the right direction, right? So let's talk a bit on the EU-India FTA. I mean clearly, look, prices eventually will come down. I don't know how you're managing it in the interim because obviously there'll be a lot of wait and watch right now which might affect business in the short term. I mean there's even talk of if you order today and your cars take a long time then you don't get it tomorrow, you get it after 2 years, will you commit to a price, a new price if there was with the duties coming down? So what is your strategy in mind with the FTA which will probably come in the next two years at the most?
I think that what is important when things change around you is to be fast, to be nimble, to adapt. So this decision has not been yet taken. But what I can guarantee you is that as it was the case of the tariff one year ago when we were very quick and fast to decide how to approach the market, we do the same thing here. So the conditions around us have changed clearly. Now it's up to us to see and to decide how we want to move in the most effective way for us and for the client, for all India.
Right. So there is a possibility that obviously to increase the volumes which you want to do and increase the market, there could be, let's say, the benefit of the reduction in duty being passed on to the...
This is for sure a benefit that people will get. What I can tell you is that as usual we want to be very fast in taking decisions and update the commercial policy to the changing conditions. That's what we will do. Give us a few weeks and then we'll be very clear about that.
Right. So what you're saying, but how do you see this 2-year period going? Obviously, there's a lot of...
This is part of the new commercial policy we are defining. What you said is clearly that we want to avoid this wait and see behavior of the people, right? Because that's what can be induced. But the new commercial policy will take into account all, also the wait and see.
Right. Yeah. So I mean I don't mean to press you but the logic would be then in a wait and see is that you give them some assurance on a lower price if the duties come in at that point.
Yes, a few weeks and then it will be very clear. We have been clear with the tariff in the US because we were ready already end of March one year ago. We were clear, straight defining what was our policy and we'll do the same also here. You're right.
Right. And you know, I just want to talk on general on, let's say, powertrain strategy. Now you've got ICE, you've got hybrid, you've got EVs. Clearly you've covered everything over there. So what is your sense, how is this panning out because it's a very volatile situation right now. EV demand is not what it was and especially at the performance end, clearly there are big challenges over there. You know, you're going ahead with the Elettrica, which by the way I think the interiors are absolutely fantastic. And you know, others have kind of shied away from it. Lamborghini, Maserati have actually said they're not going to go into EVs in that space. Porsche doing very badly also with the EV. So, does this worry you? And what are you doing different that you think you're confident that it will be a success?
Look, I'm not worried. What I mean is that I fully respect the point of view of the competitors as I'm sure they respect ours. It's a different point of view. We are coming from different experience as companies. We are coming from different scale. What I can tell you is that we are a unique company because we are doing only sports cars. We don't have any other things around us. And in a certain sense we have the flexibility to avoid the concept of platform. Some people have to work in the concept of platform. When you work in the concept of platform, you put some boundary conditions that are on top of the boundary conditions of the market around us. Ferrari Elettrica for us is also electric, is not electric, it is also electric because as you said there are a lot of innovations, the interiors are very new, a lot of anodized aluminum there. So it's a clean sheet of paper. And clean sheet of paper, if you go to see, we did more than 100 patents for this car. And they encompass everything: the way we did the dashboard, the material, the dynamics. So it's not only the propulsion. Because the reality, you know what is it? A lot of people believe that making an electric car is nothing more than getting rid of the engine and putting a motor. Well, this is not what we did. We reinterpreted everything: the interior, the exterior, the technology, the design language. And we want to do it because we realize that there is a gap over there. There is a gap and for whatever reason, and I don't want to comment, maybe dictated by time, it may be dictated by money, let's say investment optimization, a lot of other players just replaced the propulsion scheme. So this is, I think, what I mean. We are very optimistic about that but we're also very, let's say, we want to make sure that the choice is in the end of the client. We don't want to choose for the client.
And you know, you've seen how other EVs have performed, what they're doing. What do you think is the few secret ingredients of making a supercar, an electric supercar successful? I mean you've seen the high-end ones, Rimac, Pininfarina, Lotus also have tried, just all failed miserably, very expensive. Do you think so? I just want to ask you what is that secret sauce because clearly it's not worked over there. So I just want to know the few ingredients that will make a difference.
I think that very often people tend to forget that one point is the performance of the technology, one point is how these performances are perceived by the human being. It's clear to us which are the generators of the driving thrills because you buy cars because you want to have some driving thrills. Well, the generators of the driving thrills are five. There is longitudinal acceleration...
But EVs all give that, but maybe too linear.
And also too much, because sometimes it is disturbing our brain. Okay. And we did a lot of study with different medical centers and also with NASA to understand what is the level of acceleration that is disturbing the people.
That's interesting. So you're saying too much acceleration is not a good thing.
No. And you are just waiting for the time to stop the acceleration. So there is a longitudinal acceleration. Then there is a transversal acceleration, and for the transversal acceleration there is one point that is very important: is the weight.
Right, right, we agree. Especially transitioning through corners.
Yes. And because what happens is that when you are cornering, the eyes want to corner but the gyroscope in the ear, because of the weight of the car, feels that you are drifting. And so this is the second important parameter. Then there is the braking experience. You have to brake in that, and the car lighter it is, better it is.
And even the feeling, the linearity, you know, the regen, all that can disturb the...
You have to use it in the right way. You see, I agree with you that there are several electric cars where this regeneration is disturbing. Exactly, and it seems that you are not in control. Then there is another parameter that is the gearing, the gear shift.
Ah, so that's where you break the linearity and give that ebb and flow.
It's a true torque shift engagement.
Right. So are you saying that you might have a gearbox?
