In four years, by 2025, almost a third of hypercars will be 100% electric and another third will have plug-in hybrid engines.
This estimate, which foresees a boom in electrification of the most powerful and fastest cars in the world, was presented at the opening conference of Motor Valley Fest 2021 by Gianluca Camplone, Senior Partner McKinsey & Company.
Rich customers on the hunt for hypercars
Observing these figures proposed by the consulting firm are the CEOs and representatives of the most important motoring companies in Emilia-Romagna that have customers and admirers all over the world: Ferrari, Lamborghini, Pagani, Dallara, Maserati, Ducati, and Energica. All of these brands are taking stock of the state of the art of electrification of sports cars, supercars, hypercars, and motorcycles.
Before discussing the imminent electric wave coming to the factories and workshops of Italy's Motor Valley, let's clarify what the McKinsey study tells us. First, there is a forecast to double global sales of hypercars (super sports cars priced over one million euros), from about 1,000 today to 2,000 in 2025.
Electric hypercars are the new frontier
Today only 15% of the hypercars sold are electric, but in four years that same market share will double to 30%, with plug-in hybrids rising from the current 20% to 30% and traditional petrol versions dropping from 65% to 40%. In practice, it's forecasted that 60% of the hypercars sold in the world will be electrified in some way by 2025.
The same study presented by Camplone also indicates the reasons that will lead to this epochal and "green" turning point in the world of hypercars. First of all, there is the increasing number of wealthy people in the world, those defined as "high-net-worth individuals" (HNWI) who have a liquidity of over 30 million dollars: from 2000 to 2020, that number quadrupled (from 63,000 to 238,000) and in 2025 it will reach 330,000.
Targeting the young
This vast audience of potential customers with very high spending power is increasingly made up of individuals from younger generations who are often fascinated by the power, speed, and exclusivity of electric hypercars, if not the actual environmental aspect.
This new demographic and increasingly stringent international emissions regulations are just some of the forces that will lead to the production of ultra-fast zero-emission sports cars.
What Motor Valley brands think about it
Let's see what the representatives of the car and motorcycle manufacturers present at the Motor Valley Fest think about the upcoming electric cars, in order, Lamborghini, Ferrari, Pagani, Dallara, Maserati, Ducati and Energica. Below you can also find the full video of the opening conference of the Motor Valley Fest, with every CEO's statement.
Lamborghini - Stephan Winkelman
"We have a clear path, I'm not saying anything new, sustainability concerns everyone and also super sports cars. We are following a three-step path: we are still celebrating the internal combustion engine and in 2023-2024 the whole range will be electrified. They will keep our historic engine (the V12), but they will all be plug-in hybrids. And with that we will cut emissions by 50%. Our investments are the most important we have ever made in our history. The first electric Lamborghini will arrive in 2027.
Customers are prepared. We think the right time is in the second half of the decade. We have launched the SIAN with bridge model toward hybrid. We are convinced that we will be able to achieve better performance than today, also in terms of power-to-weight ratio.
However, we need to see what the roadmap indicated by the legislator will be between now and 2030. We know very well what needs to be done at group level. If a car lasts 6 or 8 years, then the money I put down today must allow me to be compliant with what happens in the next decade. I don't see any possible backward marches. Organizations are moving forward. Lamborghini was born from a challenge by Ferruccio and we accept these challenges.
No one has told us how to reduce emissions. So we are defending the idea in two stages. On the one hand we do the hybridisation and our customer will be even more satisfied. Then we'll make a full electric car that may not be a super sports car. After all, we have not only produced super sports cars and the Urus proves it, so we have expertise and a history in this sense.
Synthetic fuel must be credible for the whole world, it must be possible for everyone and not only in the Motor Valley. Are we, with our small numbers, polluting or changing the climate of the planet? No, but we have a social responsibility and we have to do it. I have my son who doesn't have a license, he doesn't care. We have to make sure our neighbor doesn't ask us to stop using one of our cars."
Ferrari - Enrico Galliera
"We are facing one of the most important challenges for the entire automotive industry. Just think how crucial it can be for a company like Ferrari, which has made engine sound one of the defining elements of the driving experience.
Every technology that comes onto the market is used to improve the final product (e.g. the dual-clutch transmission that has eliminated the mechanical gearbox). Looking at electric this process started a long time ago, in 2013 we launched LaFerrari. In 2019 the 1,000 hp SF90 Stradale that does up to 25 km on full electric. More recently the second plug-in hybrid 296 GTB visible here at Motor Valley Fest in world premiere.
All this to say what: that it's all about our ability to use a technology to serve the product's mission: performance and fun. Electrification can help. The next big challenge is a fully electric vehicle and we want to get there in 2025, The big challenge will be being able to do it while maintaining or finding the unique Ferrari characteristics."
Pagani - Horacio Pagani
"No customer has asked us for an electric car to date, but we have already started in 2018 with the development of the new model that will also be electric. For a company as small as ours, it's still a major challenge.
The fascinating thing is that by not having customer feedback, we can create something that generates excitement. Our cars, which are incidentally the most expensive cars in the world, are probably also the most useless cars in the world. Probably, if we can make something exciting, people might be interested in having a useless, but electric car.
I believe that this forced choice of electric did not come naturally. We are aware that we need to improve the planet. But how to carry out this project is something that came from above. From politics. And the choices that come from politics are not always right. So if we think of the electricity we produce in Italy, we find highly polluting sources. I think that given the way energy is produced, we have to think about how to change this way.
Then clearly, we have to use the electric car in the city. I think we have to go in steps. For the next 6-7 years maybe a CNG car is the solution for long distances. I agree with what Pontremoli says about the function of the Motor Valley, this very rich territory. We need to increase knowledge by investing a lot.
The knowledge part is fundamental and it takes humility from all of us, working together because there are things that customers see and understand, instead there are others that a customer cannot see. A Ferrari or a Lamborghini might have a common battery that no one would go to see. So it's interesting to have synergies. We have a historical partner that is Daimler. The relationship is close. And we are following what they are doing and we are working together with them and that helps us being small. I think we should get our priorities in order."
Dallara - Andrea Pontremoli
"I hope that the small manufacturers are there, otherwise how can we do it? I see a world made up like this: no group alone can do what has been said. You have to work together. Each one specializes in one field and that field must be combined with the DNA of the Motor Valley.
We have to work together, create skills, go deep with certain niches, we have to bring the Motor Valley of the world. This is where a student needs to come to study the car of the future. I don't know if the future will be electric, but it has to be more sustainable.
Electric will not be the future: there will be a future with a combustion engine that is much more sustainable. F1 is the most efficient car on the planet today. We have to learn from technologies. Let's not forget hydrogen and synthetic fuels. Who is going to study these things? In my opinion, we should be doing them here in the Motor Valley."
Maserati - Francesco Tonon
"We think electric has a strong idea of performance, innovation and sustainability. And we think there is also a ready customer. Maserati has taken this wind of change and is using it to drive the Folgore plan forward.
The future is already here, especially with the Ghibli and the Levante, and we will soon present the full electric Granturismo. We wanted it to be electric because it is an iconic car for us. Granturismo as the first electric, but then in the next 3-4 years all models will be electrified, because this is what the customer is asking us for."
Ducati - Claudio Domenicali
"In this question is the opportunity to understand how important the Motor Valley is. Ducati has no different needs than a Lamborghini or a Ferrari. There is a trend, a strong demand, the reduction of CO2 is a commitment that we have taken as a group and it is a passionate technological challenge.
Each of us is called upon to give the most appropriate response. Electric mobility is the most ready answer. There are other solutions that should not be forgotten, it may not end up like that, because hydrogen, because synthetic fuels, it all depends on how you develop the technology to reduce production costs.
Electric products are extremely exciting. The problem is the energy reservoir. The problem is the chemistry of the battery as an energy density.
I believe that during this decade there will be an evolution. For Ducati there will be a hybridization and then a move to full electric vehicles. Maybe by category. Not immediately a super sport for a discourse of weight power. In the mix is the secret by continuing to keep the promise that each new vehicle is better than the last."
Energica - Livia Cevolini
"We have a great advantage because we have 10 years of experience and ahead of everyone. We don't have any compromises. And so we will continue to do the continued development of electric.
We want to be the ones to raise the bar. We're happy that they're increasing their initiatives because the market is growing and the projected numbers make me optimistic. We all need this electric revolution, even with the arrival of other brands on the market.
All without sacrificing performance, since everyone who buys cars and motorcycles from the Motor Valley knows that this is excellence."
More from Motor Valley Fest 2021:
Gallery: Motor Valley Fest 2021