MILAN (Reuters) - Ferrari's first electric car will cost at least 500,000 euros ($535,000), a source familiar with the matter told Reuters, as the luxury automaker prepares to open a plant that will make the model - and could boost group production by up to a third.

The Italian brand, famed for its roaring petrol engines, has said it will launch an electric car late next year, and the planned price shows its confidence that ultra-wealthy drivers are ready for it, even as mass-market rivals are slashing electrical vehicle (EV) prices amid faltering demand.

The price tag, which doesn't include features and personal touches that typically add 15-20%, is well above the average sale price of around 350,000 euros, including extras, for a Ferrari in the first quarter of this year, and many rival luxury EVs.

In a less exclusive segment, Porsche's electric Taycan starts at around 100,000 euros.

Ferrari did not respond to a request for comment about the price of its first EV, or its new plant which is due to be inaugurated in its hometown of Maranello, northern Italy, on Friday.

The factory - or e-building - is a bold move for the company, which delivered fewer than 14,000 cars last year, as it will eventually allow production capacity to rise to around 20,000, the source said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Exclusivity underpins the cachet of the brand, and also its high prices, and so any increase in output comes with risks.

However, Ferrari has shown with its Purosangue SUV, launched in 2022, that it can achieve success expanding beyond its traditional two-seat sports cars and grand tourers.

"There is an increasing demand out there for Ferraris, and they have room to meet part of it without compromising exclusivity," said Fabio Caldato, a portfolio manager at AcomeA SGR, which holds Ferrari shares.

Waiting lists for some models can top two years.

"That is not getting any shorter. Being in the waiting list is in itself a status symbol," Caldato said, noting an increase in potential wealthy customers in emerging markets, such as India and the Middle East.

SECOND EV MODEL

The new factory in Maranello will give Ferrari an additional vehicle assembly line, and will make petrol and hybrid cars as well as the new EV, plus components for hybrids and EVs.

It will be fully operational in three to four months, the source said.

A second EV model is also under development, the source said, adding the process was at an early stage, and that the company might not want to increase overall production to 20,000 vehicles per year, at least in the short term.

CEO Benedetto Vigna told Ferrari shareholders in April that the "state of the art plant will assure us of flexibility and technical capacity in excess of our needs for years to come".

Any rise in output would come with an increase in models, as Ferrari would stick to its policy of keeping output for any model within a certain limit, however successful, the source said.

Rival Lamborghini plans to start selling its first EV model in 2028. Its CEO, Stephan Winkelmann, told Reuters it was more important to have the right product than to be first.

Mediobanca analyst Andrea Balloni said he expected Ferrari's new EV would have a high price tag to help preserve margins, compensating for the development of the new fully-electric technology and the larger number of parts sourced externally.

"I expect the new EV to be a niche model, accounting for just over 10% of annual sales," Balloni said, adding the core Ferrari client still preferred petrol models.

($1 = 0.9336 euros)