Bugatti CEO: the luxury car market is splitting — wealthy buyers are rejecting EVs for handcrafted ICE precision

Bugatti CEO: Luxury car market is splitting between low-cost EVs and handcrafted ICE precision

The ultra-luxury car market is fracturing into two distinct tiers, according to Mate Rimacs, Bugatti's CEO. The mainstream global market is being dominated by lower-priced EVs, many from Chinese manufacturers, while the very top of the market is trending sharply backward—toward buyers who want precisely the opposite of the EV future: loud internal combustion engines, mechanical precision, and emotional appeal.

Rimacs, 38, took over Bugatti in 2021 and frames the shift in deliberate terms. The supercar market is entering its "Swiss watch phase," he says. Wealthy buyers are actively rejecting high-end electronics and electric vehicles in favor of handcrafted mechanical detail.

The move reflects a broader phenomenon in luxury segments where the most exclusive products are competing not on technical advancement but on craft and scarcity. A separate example underscores the pattern: the Ferrari Luche, Ferrari's new flagship EV, appears to be driving buyers toward Ferrari's classic gas-powered models instead. After the Luche's announcement, demand for the Ferrari 458 and 488—models with no electric components—has risen measurably enough that dealers report it as a meaningful trend. The Luche itself sold 500 units already, above Ferrari's initial expectations, but the car's arrival seems to have signaled to collectors that the future holds fewer ICE options, prompting them to secure the old models while available.

For Bugatti, the thesis is straightforward: as the mass market commoditizes around affordable electric powertrains, the highest-margin segment of the business retreats into the craftwork and mechanical engineering that mass production cannot replicate or undercut.