Ferrari’s new EV sparks Italian angst over Agnelli legacy

{"text":[[{"start":8.55,"text":"Ferrari’s first fully electric vehicle has sparked Italian angst about the luxury carmaker and intensified debate in the country about the reign of John Elkann, scion of the Agnelli family dynasty and executive chair of the carmaker."}],[{"start":22.85,"text":"The Luce’s futuristic design, unusual proportions and symbolic departure from Ferrari’s combustion-engine heritage have provoked outrage among enthusiasts, former executives and politicians across Italy."}],[{"start":35.85,"text":"Transport minister Matteo Salvini claimed Ferrari’s founder Enzo Ferrari would be “turning in his grave”. The daily bouts of criticism about the Luce come amid questions over Elkann’s stewardship of Italian assets, in his roles as boss of the Agnelli family holding company Exor and chair at Ferrari. "}],[{"start":54.400000000000006,"text":"The €550,000 Luce was designed in collaboration with former Apple design chief Jony Ive and Marc Newson. The EV project, which began about five years ago, grew out of Elkann’s longstanding personal relationship with Ive and Newson. "}],[{"start":69.55000000000001,"text":"Publicly describing the collaboration as part of a broader effort to rethink how Ferrari approached its first EV, Elkann at the Luce’s launch event said the company “took the deliberate decision to lead what comes next”. "}],[{"start":null,"text":"

"}],[{"start":81.50000000000001,"text":"The Agnelli family has long controlled many of Italy’s most important industrial assets through Exor. For decades they occupied a quasi-royal status in Italy where their ownership of Fiat — the country’s largest postwar private-sector employer — placed them at the centre of the country’s economic and public life. "}],[{"start":100.30000000000001,"text":"But Elkann, the grandson of industrialist Gianni Agnelli, has restructured the group through a series of sales and mergers which critics say have detached the empire from its home country. "}],[{"start":112.25000000000001,"text":"In an interview on Mediaset, Carlo Calenda, Italy’s former industry minister and a former Ferrari executive, slammed the Luce EV as “an aesthetic and technological insult”. He also accused Elkann of wanting to destroy Ferrari and other companies formerly under the Agnelli umbrella. "}],[{"start":130.45000000000002,"text":"Exor, on behalf of Elkann, declined to comment on the reaction."}],[{"start":134.70000000000002,"text":"Since Elkann took charge of the Agnelli empire 20 years ago, he has disposed of companies once regarded as national symbols. Asset sales have included van maker Iveco, high-tech components maker Magneti Marelli. Fiat was absorbed into Stellantis in a merger with France’s PSA, with Italians concerned about the future of the country’s car plants. This year he sold media group GEDI, publisher of La Repubblica and La Stampa, to a Greek billionaire. "}],[{"start":165.75000000000003,"text":"Calenda added: “I don’t understand why nobody does anything while [he] destroys Stellantis’ Italian factories and sells Comau, Magneti Marelli, Iveco, La Stampa, La Repubblica.” "}],[{"start":177.55000000000004,"text":"However, Ferrari alone accounts for about one-third of Exor’s total assets. Earlier this year Elkann turned down a €1bn offer from crypto group Tether for football club Juventus. Stellantis, which also owns luxury carmaker Maserati, still employs more than 30,000 people in Italy."}],[{"start":197.70000000000005,"text":"Online commenters have accused Elkann of having “destroyed everything he has touched” before turning to Ferrari. Some suggested Turin-based Elkann should leave Italy and relocate to the Netherlands, where Exor’s legal headquarters are based. "}],[{"start":211.50000000000006,"text":"Others called the move “genius”. One Italian brand expert with a large social media following said the Luce could help Ferrari avoid the fate of Nokia, BlackBerry, Kodak or Blockbuster — once dominant brands undone by technological change. "}],[{"start":227.75000000000006,"text":"“Ferrari has taken a risky bet, but it is looking beyond today’s customers,” the influencer said. “Its future clients are 14 years old now, grew up with Teslas and may not care for a noisy combustion engine.”"}],[{"start":241.05000000000007,"text":"The intensity of the reaction reflects Ferrari’s unique place in Italian culture. The company has long represented a blend of national pride, engineering excellence and sporting mythology. Its prancing horse, or cavallino rampante in Italian, is one of the country’s most recognisable symbols. "}],[{"start":260.1500000000001,"text":"Rival Lamborghini on Wednesday posted an image of its hybrid V12 Revuelto supercar on social media with the caption: “Proud to keep you dreaming.” Thousands of comments including those praising the company for “staying true to its soul” and that it was “our only hope” appeared below the post. "}],[{"start":278.5000000000001,"text":"While the company made no reference to Ferrari, car enthusiasts saw the post as Lamborghini’s way of contrasting Ferrari’s more radical approach to electrification. "}],[{"start":null,"text":""}],[{"start":288.5000000000001,"text":"Even the decision to present the Luce to both Pope Leo XIV and President Sergio Mattarella seemed to backfire, as photographs of the pontiff and the head of state seated inside the vehicle fuelled further criticism online from detractors who accused Ferrari of seeking official endorsement for a deeply divisive project."}],[{"start":308.35000000000014,"text":"Ferrari executives remain defiant. Speaking at a public event in Modena on Thursday, chief executive Benedetto Vigna said he was confident demand would be strong. "}],[{"start":318.15000000000015,"text":"“Look at the people writing to us, the people placing orders,” Vigna said. “Some are existing clients and others are new.” "}],[{"start":325.90000000000015,"text":"Piero Ferrari, son of the founder who owns a 10 per cent stake in the eponymous group, also rallied in support, telling detractors to “try it, drive it, and you might change your minds”."}],[{"start":343.45000000000016,"text":""}]],"url":"https://audio.ftcn.net.cn/album/a_1780189247_3848.mp3"}