There’s an 18-month waiting list for new Lamborghini, a brand that made its reputation selling high-performance, gas-burning supercars; however, like the rest of the auto industry, Lamborghini will wean itself off internal combustion engines and move on to plug-in hybrids and eventually electric vehicles.
“In the year 2022 Lamborghini is in the best shape in its history,” Stephan Winkelmann, Automobili Lamborghini Chairman and CEO, said in a recent telephone interview, to discuss 2022 results and prospects for 2023 and beyond.
Lamborghini delivered an all-time record of 9,233 new vehicles in 2022, which is an increase of around 10% compared to 2021. It was the first time that Lamborghini delivered more than 9,000 units in one year. US deliveries also reached a record 2,721 in 2022, also up 10%. Lamborghini belongs to parent company Volkswagen AG’s group of premium brands, which also includes the luxury car brands Audi and Bentley, and Ducati motorcycles.
Also like the rest of the auto industry, Lamborghini is experiencing high demand and low supply for new vehicles, thanks to industry-wide supply chain issues. Parts shortages are often related to the COVID-19 pandemic, including the ongoing shortage of computer chips. In addition to the low supply, Lamborghini had its own particular reasons for the high demand in 2022.
First of all, Lamborghini aficionados are aware that the brand will phase out internal combustion engines, so they rushed to buy the latest examples of the Aventador V-12 “supercar”. It stopped manufacturing in September 2022, but total Aventador production for world markets was 661 in 2022, an increase of around 5% for the year.
Its replacement, which goes on sale later this year, is the first plug-in hybrid from the Lamborghini brand. Granted, it’s a plug-in hybrid that few other brands could pull off, because the internal combustion part of the hybrid powertrain is a gasoline V-12 engine.
“By the end of 2024, no internal combustion engine car will be offered at Lamborghini,” Winkelmann said. That is, no car with an internal combustion engine only, unlike a plug-in hybrid. He said that as new models are introduced, they will feature plug-in hybrid systems.
In addition, Lamborghini will start to introduce battery electric vehicles in 2028, he said. Second is the success of the Lamborghini Urus SUV, which gained a high-performance variant in the range last year. The Urus was first introduced in late 2017 and has quickly become Lamborghini’s best-selling model. In 2022, the production of the Urus was 5,751 units, 9.8% more than a year ago, and close to 58% of the world production of the Lamborghini brand.
Winkelmann said the Urus, which is related under the skin to the Bentley Bentayga and Porsche Cayenne, is due for a redesign by the end of 2024. Lamborghini is based in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy.