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Ferrari plans 15 new models, shares name of its SUV

MARANELLO, Italy — Ferrari plans to launch 15 new models, including hybrid cars, a utility vehicle and more special editions as part of its new chief executive's efforts to double core earnings by 2022. The supercar maker shifted to a guidance range for adjusted core earnings of 1.8-2.0 billion euros ($2.1-2.3 billion) by 2022, rather than the 2 billion figure set by late Ferrari boss Sergio Marchionne. But his successor sought to reassure investors that the company can maintain recent strong growth. "This is an ambitious plan, but a doable one based on a concrete, detailed framework," Louis Camilleri said on Tuesday at the company's Maranello headquarters in Italy. Ferrari shares gained 0.6 percent by 1330 GMT, recovering from earlier losses. The stock slid more than 8 percent on Aug. 1 when Camilleri described Marchionne's targets as "aspirational." Marchionne's sudden death in July jolted investors who had expected the auto industry grandee to remain at the wheel until 2021, having more than doubled Ferrari's market value since taking it public in 2015. Camilleri and his team outlined a plan to show how a brand known for its racing pedigree and roaring combustion engines will shift to making a utility vehicle and hybrid cars and boost margins to over 38 percent without sacrificing exclusivity. The company increased its dividend payout ratio and announced a 1.5 billion-euro share buyback plan. Its marketing chief also promised a "significant increase in average retail price." Following Marchionne's roadmap With margins at 30 percent now, strong pricing power and an enviable customer waiting list, Camilleri inherits a business firing on all cylinders and is not expected to stray far from his predecessor's script. Marchionne had orchestrated Ferrari's spinoff from parent Fiat Chrysler, positioned it as a luxury brand rather than a carmaker, and managed to do what few thought possible: sail through a self-imposed production cap of 7,000 cars a year without sacrificing pricing power or its exclusive appeal. Ferrari has clocked up years of record earnings, helped by special editions and a customization program. But it could prove tough to maintain the company's high valuation as emissions rules tighten, capital spending increases and the diverging interests of investors, racing fans, owners and collectors become harder to balance.

Ferrari to launch new model every year, keep production limited

You've no doubt perused the big news coming out of Fiat-Chrysler's headquarters in Auburn Hills, MI today. But at the end of the brand discussions, Sergio Marchionne spoke briefly about an incredibly important, low-volume part of the Fiat-Chrysler empire: Ferrari.
"You do need one of these cars in your driveway," Marchionne joked. And while other brand heads today lined out detailed plans for future product, Sergio's words about Ferrari's next five years were very simple, and very vague.
Marchionne confirmed that Ferrari will launch a new car every year between now and 2018. The cars will have a four-year lifecycle, after which, "M" versions will be produced, with a separate four-year cadence. No specific models were mentioned during Marchionne's presentation.

Ferrari hybrid V8 arriving next year, could power Ferrari SUV

Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne told Auto Express that the world can expect a V8 hybrid from Maranello next year. He said, "The test mules are out now," but what he wouldn't tell the Brit mag is where that V8 hybrid will go. Everything else in Ferrari's lineup has been recently introduced or refreshed save for the 488, but the 488 is just two years old. With all of the current cars ruled out, the bettors wager on the hybrid V8 appearing in the Ferrari SUV that's also due next year. We've no idea how Maranello engineers will structure the electrical assistance, but Marchionne indicated "more of a traditional hybrid [than the LaFerrari] to fulfill a different role." That means a strictly performance-based kinetic energy recovery system likely steps aside for one that will "yield additional performance" as well as better fuel economy. In further comments to Top Gear — where he expressed a touch of disappointment in the firm's GT car designs and the possibility of a 250 GTO continuation — Marchionne said, "The hybrid element will be much more of a mainstay of the powertrain than it was in the LaFerrari." Look out for plug-in charging and some kind of all-electric range. If all of this speculation holds up come 2019, it also means the Ferrari SUV will reverse its competitors' playbooks — the Bentley Bentayga and Lamborghini Urus, for instance, established themselves with their mightiest powertrains, then got around to plug-in hybrid models. A hybrid SUV would be smart, as we're coming up on an emission target escalation in 2020. Those targets only apply to carmakers selling more than 10,000 units per year, Ferrari sold nearly 8,400 cars last year and aims to crack 9,000 sales this year. The SUV will certainly put the Prancing Horse over the 10K barrier, and as a volume seller, relatively speaking, will make a worthwhile contribution to emissions values. Of course, you have to write Marchionne's quips in pencil, because they're prone to revision. It was only two years ago when Marchionne answered a question about the mere possibility of an SUV with, "You have to shoot me first." Later that same year, Marchionne said every Ferrari sold from 2019 onward would have some sort of hybrid element.