Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has said delaying the famed Italian performance car brand’s first electric vehicle (EV) indefinitely – previously planned for 2029 – was “the right way to go”.
Speaking to NBC in the US, Mr Winkelmann said Lamborghini’s decision to shelve plans for a battery-electric model was “the right way to go” but added “every brand, every company has to decide for themselves.”
The comments came after Lamborghini’s most direct rival, Ferrari, unveiled its EV, the Luce, the design of which has stirred strong reactions from media and fans globally.
This included former Ferrari boss Luca di Montezemolo, who is credited with returning the brand’s road car business to profitability while overseeing its most successful era in motorsport. He suggested Ferrari remove the iconic prancing horse badge from the Luce.
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Lamborghini had previously planned to introduce its first EV to showrooms in 2028 after revealing the Lanzador 2+2 concept in 2023. It has also mooted an EV version of its best-selling model, the Urus SUV.
The launch was later pushed back 12 months to 2029.
Yet earlier this year, Mr Winkelmann told CarExpert the decision had been made to postpone Lamborghini’s move into EVs indefinitely, confirming the brand’s fourth model – a 2+2-seat GT car likely based on the Lanzador – will follow the rest of the lineup in adopting plug-in hybrid power.
“We are not selling mobility – you don’t buy a Lamborghini because you have to go from A to B every day,” Mr Winkelmann said at the time.
“We’re selling dream cars, which maybe is something you wanted since you were a child – a dream of many and the reality of a few.”
Following the critical reception from many commentators to the Ferrari Luce, Lamborghini took to social media, posting four images of its flagship V12-powered Revuelto plug-in hybrid supercar with the cheeky comment: “Proud to keep you dreaming.”
Regardless of the nature of the post, Mr Winkelmann explained the ‘dream’ was a core factor in the decision to delay Lamborghini’s first EV.
“We have to be aware of the fact that we have to deliver what our customers desire – we don’t see in the short and medium term any change to this way of thinking, so this is the decision we took.”
Supercar brands including Porsche, Maserati and Lotus have either delayed or paused development of battery-electric sports cars, while Nissan recently told media the next generation of its GT-R will not be all-electric.
At Ferrari, the launch of the Luce earlier this week was accompanied by significant fanfare and heralded by the brand as “the culmination of Maranello’s multi-energy strategy”, and “not merely the ‘electric Ferrari’ but an entirely new Ferrari”.
Ferrari launched its first plug-in hybrid (PHEV) model, the SF90 Stradale, in 2019, beating the Revuelto – Lamborghini’s first PHEV – to market by four years.
When Lamborghini made the decision to pull back on EVs, its chief technical officer (CTO) was Rouven Mohr, who has since moved within the Volkswagen Group to Audi.
Audi has confirmed it continues to work on an electric sports car, which will be based on the Concept C and is due for release next year, despite earlier reports the model would share its ‘PPE Sport’ platform with an electric version of the next-generation Porsche 718, which has now reportedly been cancelled.
Mr Mohr told us during a call last year that the control offered by EVs, through individual hub motors for each wheel for example, will make them capable of serious performance in the future.
“If you ask me the emotion side at the moment… I don’t see the [electric] solution that is convincing now,” he said.
“Its time will come, trust me, because this kind of technology transformation needs longer.”