Lamborghini In “Best Shape Ever,” CEO Says. Next Up: Plug-In Hybrids And EVs

There’s an 18-month waiting list for new Lamborghinis, a brand that made its reputation selling gasoline-burning, high-performance supercars — yet like the rest of the auto industry, Lamborghini will wean itself off internal-combustion engines and switch to plug-in hybrids and eventually, electric vehicles.

“In the year 2022 Lamborghini is in the best shape ever,” Stephan Winkelmann, chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, said in a recent phone interview, to discuss 2022 results and the outlook for 2023 and beyond.

Lamborghini delivered an all-time record 9,233 new vehicles in 2022, an increase of about 10% vs. 2021. It was the first time Lamborghini delivered more than 9,000 units in a year. U.S. deliveries were also a record 2,721 in 2022, likewise up 10%.

Lamborghini belongs to parent company Volkswagen AG’s premium brand group, which also includes Audi and Bentley luxury-car brands, and Ducati motorcycles.

Also like the rest of the auto industry, Lamborghini is experiencing high demand and low new-vehicle supplies, thanks to supply-chain problems across the industry. Parts shortages are often related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including an ongoing computer chip shortage.

In addition, besides low supply, Lamborghini had its own particular reasons for high demand in 2022.

First, Lamborghini aficionados are aware the brand will phase out internal combustion engines, so they snapped up the last copies of the V-12 Aventador “supercar.” It went out of production in September 2022, but total Aventador production for worldwide markets was 661 in 2022, up about 5% for the year.

Its replacement, which goes on sale later this year, is the Lamborghini brand’s first plug-in hybrid. Granted, it’s a plug-in hybrid few other brands could pull off, because the internal-combustion part of the hybrid drive train is a V-12 gasoline engine.

“By the end of the year 2024 no ICE cars will be offered at Lamborghini,” Winkelmann said. That is, no cars with an internal combustion engine only, as opposed to a plug-in hybrid.

He said as new models are introduced, they will get plug-in hybrid systems. In addition, Lamborghini will start introducing battery electric vehicles in 2028, he said.

Second is the success of the Lamborghini Urus SUV, which got a high-performance variant in the lineup last year. The Urus was first introduced in late 2017, and has quickly become Lamborghini’s best-selling model. In 2022, Urus production was 5,751, up 9.8% vs. a year ago, and about 58% of worldwide production for the Lamborghini brand.

Winkelmann said the Urus, which is related under the skin to the Bentley Bentayga and the Porsche Cayenne, is due for a redesign by the end of 2024. Lamborghini is based in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.