Lamborghini Lanzador EV will not be delayed despite flattening demand for electric cars

Lanzador EV won’t replace an existing model but will be an additional fourth model.

Published On Dec 01, 2024 09:00:00 AM

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Lamborghini Lanzador EV on track for 2030

Lamborghini will not follow Aston Martin and Bentley in delaying its EV plans. However, the Italian supercar brand will keep selling its existing three hybrid models for as long as possible.

Lanzador EV will be an addition to Lamborghini line-up
Lamborghini still has “enough” time to rethink on EV debut
Lamborghini’s current global line-up is fully electrified

Lamborghini confident on its EV strategy

In an exclusive interview with our sister publication Autocar UK, boss Stephan Winkelmann said he was confident that the firm’s previously outlined electrification strategy was “the right one” because when it comes to launching EVs, “it’s not about innovation, it’s about coming at the right time”.

“When we decided to do the first step of our strategy, to have all the line-up new and hybridised, this was a big effort for the company,” he said. “For the last four years, we have worked very hard on this, and now we see that this was – you never know, but – the right decision. Therefore, we think that to be very focused on a step-by-step approach on [electrification] was the right decision.”

Winkelmann said that because Lamborghini’s first EV – developed from the segment-bending Lanzador concept of last year – is an all-new model rather than a replacement for any current car. There is less risk of it impacting the company’s sales volumes, and it could even increase them.

“We have enough time to decide if we need to accelerate or delay the introduction of the electric cars,” he said. “So far, we are not thinking about delaying anything. We said we want to have our first electric car by the end of this decade, and this is something which we will continue to foster, because we said it has to be an additional car - a fourth model.”

Nonetheless, Winkelmann acknowledged that the curve of EV uptake is not “as steep as forecasted” and said this is “even more” true for the super-sports car segment in which Lamborghini operates, so the company’s strategy to “stay hybrid as long as possible is really the right one”.

Supercar makers backtracking on EV plans

Winkelmann’s comments come after other low-volume car makers – including Aston Martin, Bentley and Ineos – pushed back their debut EVs in light of low demand for electric cars. Lotus, too, has backtracked on plans to go all-electric and will launch a new range of range-extender hybrids. Porsche is looking to extend the lifecycle of its current combustion cars in response to low EV uptake in the premium segment.

Lamborghini line-up fully hybridised for immediate future

Following the debut of the Hurácan-replacing Temerario with a new electrified V8 engine, Lamborghini’s three existing model lines are now fully hybridised. And Winkelmann said the company won’t reverse its decision to go all-electrified, even if synthetic fuel proves a viable means of cleanly powering combustion engines in the future.

“I don’t think that battery technology is going to step out of our cars because, at the end of the day, it is something which helps the performance, not inhibits performance,” he said. “And battery technology will evolve, and if we stay hybrid, this is going to help the performance of the cars even more.”

The performance benefits of electrification are clearly helping Lamborghini’s customers to make the jump to hybrid power. The Revuelto, with its battery-assisted V12 engine, is sold out “well into 2026”, and the new Urus SE plug-in hybrid SUV is spoken for through to the end of 2025.

Notably, while the Temerario is down two cylinders on its predecessor, it has a larger engine than its V6-engined rivals, the Ferrari 296, McLaren Artura and Maserati MC20, and Winkelmann suggested that size advantage plus the attractive aural bonus of a 10,000rpm redline will be a significant selling point for Lamborghini’s new entry-level model.

“We cannot do the things for just one year; it has to last over a decade, mainly. And, therefore, it’s very important that our engineers are clever enough to put together the thresholds of what the outer world is giving you with the desire of our clients.”

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