Lamborghini will decide imminently whether the Lanzador, revealed in concept form in 2023 and touted as its first EV, will be electric or instead opt for a plug-in hybrid set-up akin to much of today’s model line-up.
The electric Lanzador was due to arrive before the end of the decade, but a slowing uptake in EVs particularly at this level of the market, along with delays in EV development at parent company VW Group and subsidiary Porsche, has now thrown that into question.
Talking to Autocar, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, said: “With Lanzador, we need to decide whether [it will be] a PHEV or electric in the next few weeks.”
While he stopped short of confirming the Italian firm’s decision, he also commented: “When it comes to our cars, [customers] don’t see BEVs as an alternative today. We could do a BEV but I think it is a bad offer for the next few years.”
An electric Lanzador was due to have up to 1350bhp and 980v charging hardware, while a plug-in hybrid version of the 2+2 concept would use a similar set-up to the twin-turbo V8 and electric motors found on the Urus and Temerario.
Further proof that Lamborghini is putting the brakes on its electric plans came a few months ago, when Winkelmann confirmed that the next-generation Urus, due in 2029, would not go electric as originally anticipated but instead stay as plug-in hybrid.
The likely decision on the Lanzador is even more poignant as main rival Ferrari has just revealed more details on its first EV, arriving next year. If Lamborghini delays its battery-powered Lanzador, it will be at least five years behind Ferrari. Winkelmann wouldn’t comment on the Electtrica but said: “We look very carefully at what Ferrari is doing.”
Winkelmann said the company’s biggest challenge was achieving emissions standards globally, particularly given how legislation varies so much in different region. “We will meet Euro 7 [emissions targets] which is a huge step. But in US we have different rules, for example. We have to start flexible and alert in this sense. It is more favourable to continue to do PHEV cars.”
He also confirmed that the V12 engine, found in the Revuelto, will continue after 2030.
Talking more broadly about the future, he added: “The industry needs a clear direction and it should not just be about one new type of technology.”
To that end, Winkelmann has recently restructured Lamborghini’s board and has put strategy director Stefano Rutigliano in charge of a new alternative fuels project.
