Are electric cars as clean as we hope? Ferrari has doubts

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Are electric cars really as clean as they seem? May be not.

The positive environmental impact of electric vehicles should be more thoroughly analyzed, as they “may not be saving the planet at all” as we hope, said Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne in the CNBC interview recently.

"I think that if you don't do the full analysis of what the origin of the electrical power is, where it comes from, how you get batteries into these cars, what the cost is in terms of CO2 and the environment, I think the analysis that we are going to save the planet with electric cars is nonsense."

Ferrari CEO Sergio Marchionne /CNBC Photo

As chairman of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and chairman of Maserati as well, Marchionne has been still quite skeptical of the future of electric cars. In fact, he has been pushing back against the electrification trend in Ferrari as well as in the car industry, while the majority of automakers have invested a lot to develop and promote electric vehicles.

"If the base of that electrical production is nuclear, then I have zero issue. We'll all be doing the right thing," he said. "But you are embracing nuclear power as the solution to your problems. If you are relying on fossil fuels to produce it, I think the issue is much bigger."

Besides, Marchionne also pointed out that electric cars are not as profitable as people thought, at least not yet in current phase.

Some countries have begun to take steps to ban gas-powered vehicles. /Car Magazine Photo

So far, Ferrari has never made announcement to develop electric cars. Not only the company’s executives but also many Ferrari fans don’t show great enthusiasm on all-electric models, according to Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas. In their opinions, an all-electric model “would not fit in with the brand image of Ferrari.”

In part due to competition from companies like Tesla, however, it seems quite hard for Ferrari at present to insist, especially when more and more countries have begun to take steps to ban the sales of gas-powered vehicles.