Lamborghini's EV future in the balance as decision nears

The Lamborghini Lanzador might launch as a hybrid rather than an electric vehicle, becoming the latest model to suffer from lower EV demand.

Lamborghini launched the Lanzador concept in 2023, previewing the brand’s first EV with an initial planned arrival of 2028.

That timeline was then postponed to 2029, with Lamborghini citing reduced demand for battery powered vehicles. Now, it may not happen at all, after Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann told Autocar the 2+2 model might become a plug-in hybrid.

“With Lanzador, we need to decide whether [it will be] a PHEV or electric in the next few weeks,” Winkelmann said.

“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.”

According to Autocar, the Lanzador PHEV could adopt a similar powertrain to that found in the existing Urus SUV and Temerario supercar, meaning a twin-turbo V8 mated with electric motors.

Last week Ferrari revealed details about its own debut EV, the Elettrica, set to be an even more premium rival to the likes of the Porsche Taycan.

Winkelmann added Lamborghini will “look very carefully at what Ferrari is doing”, suggesting the Elettrica will be its yardstick when it comes to demand for high-end EVs.

Earlier this year, Lamborghini committed to keeping engines alive through the use of hybrid technology into the future.

“So we are constantly looking into what is happening, not only at our level, but also at premium level because the acceptance curve in our category is even lower than somewhere else,” Winkelmann told Torquecafe. “So, we see that there is going to be a sweet spot in some years from now.”

“So a fourth model with a new body style also with a new generation coming up and being all more and more into sustainability, we think that by the end of this decade is a good moment for the second [electric] car. This would’ve been the Urus follow-up, but we decided that for the Urus follow-up there will be another plug-in hybrid car.

“This is a very important decision we took because we think that we have to safeguard as long as possible the plug-in hybrid, the ICE engines, and we can see that this was accepted by our dealers in a very positive way.”