What sets Ferrari apart from Ford and GM to have a $30 billion surge in market value?
Believe it or not, what CNBC pointed out following Ferrari's share price surging 7 percent on Monday, May 4, is true. Ferrari is now worth $30 billion. Despite the two-month lockdown and resuming production gradually on May 4, no one expected that Ferrari would manage to get through the COVID-19 difficulties, which don’t compare to the hits taken by all other car manufacturers in the world. The same day, Ferrari’s shares jumped by 7 percent after the Maranello-based carmaker reported better than expected earnings and also an increase of 5% in delivery of its cars up to 2,738, while revenue only dropped by 1% to $1.02 billion. Although GM makes 770 cars for every one Ferrari, General Motors' market value fell to about $29 billion, while Ford’s was $19 billion.
The successor to Sergio Marchionne, Chairman John Elkann, managed to raise the number of cars produced to 10,000 in 2019, compared with General Motors’ production of about 7.7 million vehicles last year. Ferrari favors quality over quantity, which clarifies that despite the fact that General Motors produces 7.690.000 more cars than Ferrari, hoping to claim their value by selling more, creating rarity in Ferrari’s cars and the services they provide is the right strategy chosen by Ferrari. Ferrari can keep the prices of their cars high by making exclusive, astounding vehicle designs available to the best customers of the company. Producing expensive, rare, and enviable cars like the $2 million LaFerrari or the Monza SP1 and SP2 that cost around $1.75 million each helped the company generate high profit margins that increased Ferrari’s profitability over the years and helped the company handle its finances overall during a crisis like the COVID-19 pandemic.
That’s how the Italian car manufacturer, Ferrari, makes its money. Ferrari doesn’t focus on revenues alone; they make their clients and enthusiasts desire the brand instead of focusing mainly on making high revenues. Some fans of the brand will never sit behind the wheel of a Ferrari or even encounter one in person, yet they can live the Ferrari dream by buying anything that projects their association with the brand (shoes, tee shirts, hats, etc.); they can fuel their passion by visiting Ferrari’s museums; watching a Ferrari Formula 1 race; and more!
Did you know that Ferrari sells more merchandise than cars? What Enzo Ferrari started in the 1940s evolved into a lifestyle. This is not the case for GM and Ford; their marketing strategy is quite straightforward: sell more cars, which is not the case for Enrico Galliera, the head of sales and marketing for Ferrari. While everyone should want a Ferrari, not everyone should have one. Someone must always be left wanting.
Always remember that a good product alone doesn’t create a powerful company. This is a great case study for marketers to build desire for their brand by making it exclusive.