The 812 superfast. Image: Ferrari official website
Italian car maker Ferrari wants to build its own electric vehicle in the same vein as their traditional supercars.
The company said its car will be a direct competitor to the Tesla Roadster, reports Bloomberg. Ferrari plans to release its electric supercar before Tesla gets its car into the market by 2020.
“If there is an electric supercar to be built, then Ferrari will be the first,” said CEO Sergio Marchionne at the North American International Auto Show held in Detroit.
He added, “People are amazed at what Tesla did with a supercar: I’m not trying to minimize what Elon did but I think it’s doable by all of us.”
Reservations for the Tesla Roadster are underway. Interested buyers may reserve a car for as much as $250,000 (about P12.6 million).
Meanwhile most traditional automakers held off investing in electric vehicles. Instead, they chose to partner with companies like Google’s Waymo which develops self-driving cars.
Marchionne himself has been skeptical as to when alternative engines and new technology should be introduced. Now, he believes the time is right. He also estimates that by the year 2025, less than half of active vehicles will be running purely on a traditional combustion engine. Alfred Bayle/JB
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