Despite , Bugatti will be able to continue to produce and sell its Veyron, a €2m car that can guzzle 7.7 litres of petrol per minute at full speed, or 25.19 litres per 100 kilometres.
The Ferrari amendment is to thank for this. Tabled at the initiative of Italian MEPs, manufacturers of luxury or exceptionally powerful cars have managed to obtain a different timetable from mainstream manufacturers. Those who sell less than 1,000 cars a year will be able to continue to fit their expensive cars with internal combustion engines.
Manufacturers who sell between 1,000 and 10,000 vehicles a year will be given an extra year to switch to 100% electric.
A preferential treatment that annoys
In other words, Bugatti, which sells around 60 to 70 cars a year, will be able to continue to do so without any restrictions on CO2 emissions, while Ferrari, Bentley, Rolls-Royce and Lamborghini will have to either reduce their production to below 1,000 units--making their models even rarer, more expensive and more prestigious-- or develop a 100% electric engine from 2036.
This preferential treatment has sparked debates on social networks. Ferrari ended 2021 with 11,155 cars sold worldwide, an increase of 22% compared to 2020. In any case, luxury car manufacturers will have to adapt their business model or adopt electric engines.
According to some figures, Luxembourg is the country with the highest number of luxury cars per inhabitant, one for every 13 inhabitants. These figures should be read with caution as Luxembourg has a VAT rate that may be more advantageous than in other countries and not all cars purchased in Luxembourg are exclusively reserved for residents.
On the other hand, SNCA and Statec figures indicate that 120 Ferraris were newly registered in 2021 as well as 56 Lamborghinis, 48 Maseratis, 34 Aston Martins, 32 Bentleys, 10 McLarens and 5 Rolls Royces. Considering these seven main luxury brands sold in the grand duchy (non-exhaustive list), with 305 new registrations last year, this represents 0.69% of all new registrations for the year.
This story was first published in French on . It has been translated and edited for Delano.