Ferrari Sells One Car Fewer Than People Want
It builds about 14,000 cars a year, yet an estimated more than a billion people recognize the prancing horse.
Acquired · Ferrari: What happens when you staple a luxury brand to a sports team?Enzo Ferrari, the founder of the Italian carmaker that bears his name, is widely quoted as saying, "Ferrari will always deliver one car less than the market demand."
The first car sold to customers, the 166, numbered fewer than 100 even though demand was higher, because the company could make only about that many. The 250 series that followed in 1952 was the first real production Ferrari, with a few thousand built through the 1950s. In the retelling that made the line famous, it is treated as the strategy today, an interpretation rather than a documented company rule.
The arithmetic since then has stayed extreme. Ferrari now builds about 14,000 cars a year, roughly the number of Toyotas sold every 10 hours. Only about 180,000 people in the world own one, yet an estimated more than a billion people recognize the brand, among the most lopsided ratios of knowers to owners for any company selling products consumers can actually buy.
For comparison, Hermes makes 10 times as many Birkin and Kelly bags in a year as Ferrari makes cars, and Rolex makes 70 times as many watches. The Ferrari utility vehicle, which the company won't call an SUV, is limited to about 20 percent of total volume.
Questions people ask
How many people actually own a Ferrari?
About 180,000 people globally. That small owner base, set against mass recognition, is what makes the brand unusual.
How does Ferrari's output compare with Hermes and Rolex?
Ferrari makes far fewer. Hermes makes about 10 times as many Birkin and Kelly bags in a year as Ferrari makes cars, and Rolex makes about 70 times as many watches.
What was Ferrari's first customer car?
The 166, of which fewer than 100 were made. The 250 series that followed in 1952 was the first real production Ferrari, with a few thousand built through the 1950s.