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Lamborghini will cancel its plan to launch an electric car in 2028 due to what the company calls a lack of consumer demand.
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann spoke with The Sunday times in an interview, saying the EV will no longer join the lineup after the company’s analysis showed low demand for the EV, which was called the Lanzador in 2023. The company is owned by Volkswagen through its subsidiary Audi.
Winkelmann told The Sunday Times that the “acceptance curve” for EVs in Lamborghini’s target market was “almost zero” and is flattening due to a lack of interest from the luxury carmaker’s customer base.
He added in the interview that the development of electric vehicles risks becoming an “expensive hobby” for Lamborghini and that the automaker plans to make traditional vehicles with combustion engines for “as long as possible.”
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A high-performance electrified vehicle from Lamborghini Revuelto, left, and an electric concept car from Lamborghini Lanzador on the opening day of the Geneva International Motor Show Qatar 2023 in Doha, Qatar. (Christopher Pike/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Winkelmann said Lamborghini customers value an “emotional experience” with their cars and that “EVs, in their current form, struggle to create this particular emotional connection,” he told the outlet.
With Lamborghini canceling plans to move forward with the EV, the company plans to replace it in the lineup with a plug-in hybrid electric car (PHEV).
When asked in the interview if the company will ever have an EV in its lineup, Winkelmann told the outlet: “Never say never, but only when the time is right. In the near future, only PHEVs. We will continue to develop electrification because we also have to be ready for it.”
LAMBORGHINI SET ANOTHER SALES RECORD IN 2022 AND SOLD OUT IN 2024
| Ticker | Security | Last | Change | Change % |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| VWAGY | VOLKSWAGEN AG | 12.03 | +0.20 |
+1.69% |
Lamborghini’s plan not to include EVs in its lineup in the near future comes as other major automakers have suffered financial burdens from shifting their EV roadmaps due to weaker-than-expected consumer demand.
Stellantis, the parent company of brands such as Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep and Ram, announced earlier this month a $26.5 billion charge as it would cut production of electric vehicles.
Stellantis CEO Antonio Filosa said the “strategic reset” came after the company’s previous assumptions about electric vehicle demand were “too optimistic”.
GM TAKES $7B HIT AFTER EV STRATEGY CHANGE DUE TO SLAGGING DEMAND
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann next to a Lamborghini Lanzador electric concept during The Quail, A Motorsports Gathering in Carmel, California, August 18, 2023. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
General engines took a $7 billion financial charge after adjusting its EV strategy to take into account weak demand.
Ford CEO Jim Farley said earlier this month that the “customer has spoken” in discussing an $11.1 billion net loss in the fourth quarter amid major writedowns on its EV programs.
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