Now that Ferrari is a publicly traded enterprise (NYSE: RACE), the question for fans of the marque is whether—or, more accurately, to what degree—the attendant financial pressures will affect the cars that it builds. Already, we’ve had chairman Sergio Marchionne talking about raising production from the longtime ceiling of 7000 cars to more than 9000. But how about an SUV? Wouldn’t that offset the current sales slump (!) in China? As quoted by Bloomberg, Marchionne answered that question on a conference call with financial analysts by saying, “You have to shoot me first.”
Which isn’t the same as “never.” But it’s encouraging to hear nonetheless.
To understand the kind of pressures Marchionne is under, take a look at Ferrari’s stock price. The initial public stock offering was in October, and shares have mostly trended down from the $55 IPO price, slumping below $40 (they’re $34.77 at this writing, down $5 in what’s looking to be an ugly day for the stock market). Furthermore, the company is forecasting 7900 deliveries in 2016, a three-percent increase over 2015, but last year’s total represented a six-percent increase over the year before. Wall Street likes growth—increasing growth.
Of course, Ferrari is more than just a maker of lustworthy automobiles—much more. It’s a lifestyle brand. It plans to open a second theme park (in Spain) this year. And, according to its prospectus, the company wants to “expand the presence of the Ferrari brand” in other “lifestyle categories” such as “sportswear, watches, accessories, [and] consumer electronics.” All of this will probably be enough to keep Ferrari from following Porsche, Lamborghini, Rolls-Royce, and Maserati down the gilded path toward SUV sales.
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