Italy Fighting Law To Kill Ferrari And Lamborghini Combustion Engines

Sep. 05, 2021 9:07 AM ET by Jay Traugott Supercars / 12 Comments

Can a deal be made?

Neither Ferrari nor Lamborghini currently offers all-electric models. The former has confirmed it'll launch its first EV in 2025 and Lamborghini's is still several years away. Both are not exactly enthusiastic about dropping their famed combustion engines are doing their utmost to keep them around for as long as possible by utilizing hybrid technology. The Ferrari 296 GTB and Lamborghini Sian are two prime examples.

Meanwhile, the European Union aims to phase out combustion engines for new vehicles entirely by 2035. Both marques are not happy about that and nor is Italy. Because they're a major source of national pride and tradition, the Italian government, according to Bloomberg, is reportedly in talks with the EU on how to protect these automakers from the combustion ban.

Although Italy fully supports Europe's commitment to significantly reduce greenhouse emissions, Ferrari and Lamborghini only make up a very small fraction of annual new vehicle sales. Yes, their combustion engines pollute more than the average car, but the addition of plug-in hybrid tech and, possibly, synthetic fuels, will make a big difference. Italy's minister for ecological transition, Roberto Cingolani, confirmed his government's position on the matter.

"Those cars need very special technology and they need batteries for the transition," he said. "One important step is that Italy gets autonomous in producing high-performance batteries and that is why we are now launching the Giga-factory program to install in Italy a very large scale production facility for batteries."

Because Ferrari and Lamborghini have dramatically lower sales than say, Fiat, the economies of scale that could be gained by converting manufacturing plants to EV facilities is significantly lower. The economic math just doesn't add up. Cingolani refused to say whether a deal has already been made with the EU, but remains "convinced there will not be a problem" as discussions continue.

Representatives from both supercar companies refused to comment on the report, but neither outright denied. It's a delicate subject matter that has many political, cultural, and environmental considerations. But it's a huge sigh of relief for us gearheads.