Ferrari launched its first electric car, the Luce, in China on Friday, pricing the model from 3.988 million yuan ($586,100) as it tests demand for its first fully electric model in the world’s largest market for electric vehicles.
The Asian premiere unfolded at night in Shanghai, at the Power Station of Art, a former riverside power plant on the Huangpu River now used as a contemporary-art museum.
Billed as the marque’s first pure-electric model, the Luce reaches Chinese buyers at a sticker that sits below the level set at its reveal in May and days before the brand replaced its marketing chief.
That global unveiling had sent Ferrari shares lower, a rare stumble for a maker whose limited cars usually sell out before they reach the road.
Friday’s debut marks the boldest test yet of whether the Italian marque can win over electric buyers with its controversial model.
A Bold Price
Priced from 3.988 million yuan, the Luce arrives well below its European sticker.
In Europe, where the car launched in late May, it starts at €550,000, about 4.27 million yuan.
That leaves the China version about 300,000 yuan cheaper, a gap close to the price of a Xiaomi YU7 GT.
The launch confirmed pricing that had been the subject of speculation since the car broke cover in May.
F80-Derived Hardware
Built on a dedicated aluminum and carbon-fiber platform, the Luce draws on four electric motors for a combined 1,050 horsepower.
Configured as a four-door, five-seat model, the Luce reads more as a grand tourer than a classic two-seat Ferrari.
The model reaches 100 kph in 2.5 seconds, passes 200 kph in 6.8 seconds and tops out at 310 kph, according to specifications shared at the launch.
A 122-kilowatt-hour battery delivers a WLTP range of 530 kilometers.
Power is paired with a 48-volt active suspension derived from the F80 hypercar, four-wheel steering and an advanced dynamic-control system.
Weighing 2.26 metric tons, the car splits its mass 47% front and 53% rear.
Inside, the cabin emphasizes tactile, physical controls, a deliberate contrast with touchscreen-heavy rivals.
Each major system was tuned to work in concert, Ferrari has said, in a model it describes as engineered from scratch.
A Launch Built Around Light
Named for the Italian word for light, the Luce anchors a campaign Ferrari has built around illumination.
The brand staged the night premiere under the banner “in the name of light,” casting the car against the Shanghai skyline.
Its Italian tagline framed the car as a light found at the end of a long pursuit of dreams.
The event drew took place on a former power plant reborn as an art space.
On an official account followed by 422,000 people, Ferrari framed the model as a new chapter for the Prancing Horse.
For the design, Ferrari turned to LoveFrom, the studio founded by former Apple designers Jony Ive and Marc Newson, according to its official page for the car.
A Polarizing Debut
Rivals seized Luce’s reveal, with Nissan mocking the design and Lucid‘s chief executive arguing his Air Sapphire bettered it.
Defenders countered that the silence and software mark the inevitable future of performance cars.
Ferrari had pitched the Luce as a clean break, yet the reaction showed how attached fans remain to its heritage.
The turbulence has reached Ferrari itself, which replaced its marketing chief just days before the China launch.
Even so, the company is steering early orders toward its most loyal clients, a move that doubles as a demand test.
The Luce is the first of two planned electric models, though Ferrari has delayed the second to 2028.
Years ago the company targeted a range that was 60% hybrid and electric by 2026, a goal the Luce now advances.
