Coronavirus impact: Ferrari delays new model debuts by 4 months

KUALA LUMPUR: After a halt of almost two months, the Italian automaker Ferrari commences the production of supercars in its Italy-based factories - Maranello and Modena, from today. There is no doubt that tragic coronavirus lockdown in the country has given a dent to Ferrari’s production schedules, car launches, and of course, the profits. 

As per the report of Automotive News Europe, the firm prepares to launch the two models this year; however, their unveiling will be delayed by three to four months due to the health crisis.

Ferrari, in a statement, mentioned that it had spared no effort to resume the production with the new “Back on Track” program. But just like other automakers, Ferrari also has to look at its bottom line at this point, which will help in reducing the cost as well as capital expenditures. For that matter, Ferrari CEO Louis Camilleri states that the company could delay some models while the others will arrive “on time.”

As far as the sales are concerned, the automaker predicts a drop of 4-15% this year as compared to the previous year. However, the company rigorously planning to deliver four of the five new models debuted in 2019. Out of these, it has already started delivering F8 Tributo and for the other three, things are set for the second half of 2020. 

The last year was really busy for the firm as it had the debut of F8 Tributo, SF90 Stradale, 812 GTS, F8 Spider, and Roma. Moreover, it also unveiled the updated version of 488 Challenge Evo and 488 GT3 Evo race cars.

Ferrari closed its premises on March 14 when the Italian government issued a nationwide lockdown to control the spread of the virus. And now, at the time of opening, it mentioned that this was the longest operation closure in the brand’s history. The resumption of the factories involves several new practices aimed at safeguarding the health and wellbeing of all the employees. It is also offering voluntary serological tests which have already started from the last few weeks.

Also read: Check out Ferrari F42 render by Paul Breshke