Enzo Ferrari established his own company in 1939 after years connected to Alfa Romeo. Ferrari has since moved from a family-led business to a company with public shareholders, while keeping its identity centered in Maranello. This guide explains the difference between Ferrari’s current legal ownership, its largest shareholders, and the Fiat-era history that still causes confusion.
With the public owning a majority stake in Ferrari, you can read it one of two ways: shareholders own Ferrari or Ferrari owns Ferrari. There’s not a wrong way to look at it, because either way it means that the people making the decisions about new Ferrari models, about how to register and catalog your classic Ferrari, are all doing it with one thing in mind: the future of the Ferrari brand and reputation.
Ferrari N.V. is a publicly traded company, not a division of Fiat, Chrysler, or Stellantis. Its shares trade on the New York Stock Exchange and Euronext Milan. Exor is Ferrari’s largest shareholder, Piero Ferrari remains a major shareholder, and the rest of the company is held by public investors.
Ownership and voting influence are not identical: Ferrari has a loyalty-voting structure that gives qualifying long-term shareholders additional voting rights. That structure is designed to support stability while Ferrari remains a public company.
Enzo Ferrari broke from Alfa Romeo in 1939 and managed the business for over 20 years before pursuing outside investment opportunities. Conscious of the need to expand the industrial side of the business, Ferrari implemented a number of changes — including becoming a Limited Company in 1960.
Although there were other potential buyers, FIAT S.p.A. eventually acquired a 50% stake in Ferrari, allowing for a significant expansion in production. From 1969 to 1988, FIAT expanded their ownership from 50% to 90% — with Enzo Ferrari owning the remaining 10%. Upon Enzo’s death, his stake passed to Piero.
If you’ve caught the blockbuster Ford v Ferrari, you hopefully already know the answer to this one: Ford attempted to purchase Ferrari but was denied when Enzo Ferrari learned he would lose control over the racing division. The stubbornness of Henry Ford II caused Ford to dive headlong into a racing competition with Ferrari that defined an era for both automakers.
Ferrari doesn’t own Alfa Romeo; in fact, they are currently owned by FIAT Chrysler. While there was a brief moment where Alfa Romeo and Ferrari were under the same (symbolic) roof once again, all relationships between Alfa Romeo and Ferrari are now history.
As with Alfa Romeo, Maserati existed under the FIAT Chrysler umbrella, and for a brief period — from 1997 to 2005, Ferrari owned a controlling interest in Maserati. The result? The new and improved Quattroporte Evoluzione breathed new life into the Maserati brand. In 2005, Maserati split from Ferrari and partnered with Alfa Romeo.
No. Ferrari became a separately listed public company after its separation from Fiat Chrysler Automobiles. Its heritage is connected to Fiat, but it operates as Ferrari N.V.
Fiat once held a controlling stake and supported Ferrari’s production expansion. The modern company is independent, though that shared history still shapes how people discuss the brand.
While some automakers seem to change hands every few years Ferrari has maintained their vision in part by remaining consistently managed. From the initial years to the FCA years to now, there has been a consistent throughline to define a Ferrari and continue living up to the expectations of Chicago Ferrari drivers and Enzo himself.
Contact Ferrari Lake Forest to learn more about the history of Ferrari, or explore the history behind the Ferrari logo to see how the brand’s identity developed alongside the company.
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