Ferrari to cap output till 2015

Ferrari will not jump on the SUV bandwagon or produce more than 7,000 cars a year. But it does not rule out turbocharging, new engines or even all-wheel-drive.

Mr Enrico Galliera, Ferrari's senior vice-president for commercial and marketing, told Life! in an interview on Wednesday that Ferrari will cap its annual production to no more than 7,000 cars for "two more years" - down from last year's record 7,318.

In May, the company announced the cap for this year to preserve exclusivity. The news was greeted with much scepticism, with observers saying that the move was actually in response to diminishing demand, especially from China.

Mr Galliera, however, maintained that the cap was necessary to keep a waiting list of "at least 12 months", Ferrari's measure of exclusivity. He said the company will stick to this cap "for the next two years at least".

"After that, we will see," he said. "It will depend on demand, especially from the Asia-Pacific."

Currently, Ferrari is under-represented in the region, with most of its sales coming from Europe and the United States. The last time Ferrari declared a production cap - of 3,500 cars - was in 1993, when sales started tapering from its peak of 4,500 cars in 1991. Mr Galliera said the latest cap was precisely because of the meteoric growth in the last 20 years.

"After this strong growth, we stop, and ask ourselves if we're maybe going too fast," he said, adding that the pull-back was necessary to ensure success "in the next 20 years". Here for the opening of Ferrari agent Ital Auto's revamped showroom, Mr Galliera said the Maranello-based company will beef up other businesses to grow its bottom-line. These include its customisation programme, driver training, races for owners and enthusiasts, and Ferrari merchandise.

He stressed that Ferrari has no plans to enter the SUV segment.

"We cannot even talk about it in the factory," he said. "Otherwise, we are immediately fired." He explained: "With everyone going into the SUV segment... it is even more important now to keep our difference and not to enter the segment, which is a volume segment." Neither will it make a four-door car.

But Mr Galliera said Ferrari is open to other new areas down the road. On all-wheel-drive models, he said there are no plans "in the short term" to extend beyond what it has applied to its FF four-seater - a lightweight, adaptive rear-biased system. "But never say never," he added quickly.

He also dismissed the idea of a six- cylinder Ferrari, even though the company makes these engines for sister brand Maserati. "Not in the short term," he said. As for turbocharging, it may be something Ferrari will adopt one day.

"We are producing turbo engines for Maserati," he said. "For the time being, we stick to our normally aspirated V8 and V12 engines. In the future, we can decide. We have the technology."

christan@sph.com.sg

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