Lamborghini is the most recent luxurious carmaker to confess the urge for food for unique and costly electrical automobiles simply isn’t there.
CEO Stephan Winkelmann confirmed in an interview with The Sunday Instances this week Lamborghini is shelving its all-electric Lanzador and pivoting to plug-in hybrid autos. Winkelmann stated the enchantment inside Lamborghini’s goal marketplace for battery-powered automobiles was “close to zero.”
Lamborghini introduced the Lanzador, a 1,341-horsepower “Ultra GT” and the maker’s fourth EV mannequin, in 2023. The automobile was slated for a 2029 launch with an estimated price ticket of $300,000, however Lamborghini quietly retired the all-electric mannequin on the finish of 2025.
“The decision was made after over a year of continuous internal discussion, engaging with customers, dealers, market analysis, and global data,” Winkelmann stated.
“Investing heavily in full-EV development when the market and customer base are not ready would be an expensive hobby, and financially irresponsible towards shareholders, customers [and] to our employees and their families,” he added.
Lamborghini didn’t reply to Fortune’s request for remark.
Lamborghini joins a rising record of luxurious manufacturers shrinking or deferring battery-powered automobiles. In 2024, its Volkswagen-owned sibling Bentley pushed again its electric-only objective from 2030 to 2035, and Porsche stated in September 2025 it could considerably cut back its electrification plans, ditching efforts to construct its personal EV battery. The next month, Ferrari introduced it could pare again its all-electric aspirations from an preliminary objective of 40% absolutely electrical automobile gross sales by the tip of the last decade down to twenty%. However Ferrari, as of this month, nonetheless has plans to launch its all-electric Luce in 2028.
Premium carmakers have likewise taken a step again from EV manufacturing, together with Stellantis, proprietor of Chrysler, Jeep, and Fiat, which took a $26 billion EV write-down earlier this month. Ford introduced in December 2025 it could take a $19.5 billion hit because it pivoted away from all-electric autos, together with scrapping the absolutely electrical F-150 Lightning. CEO Jim Farley stated the corporate would as an alternative pivot to extra reasonably priced and hybrid autos. Ford unveiled plans this month to launch an EV pickup subsequent yr beginning at $30,000.
Why nobody needs a luxurious EV
The woes of higher-end manufacturers doesn’t replicate the higher EV business. EV registrations grew 20% in 2025, in line with information from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, together with a 17% increase in China and 33% leap in Europe. North America, conversely, noticed a 4% drop in gross sales. To make sure, the consultancy didn’t see sustained progress in demand following an easing of worldwide electrification targets and slowing demand in China.
Winkelmann stated the sluggish demand for luxurious EVs isn’t just a results of macroeconomic and political elements, but in addition of the automobiles being tactically much less interesting than their inside combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. Clients miss the growling revving of fuel autos with noisy inside combustion engines, the CEO famous. (Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna vowed in 2024 to retain the roar of its fuel automobiles by way of a patented amplification system.)
“EVs, in their current form, struggle to deliver this specific emotional connection,” Winkelmann stated.
Hybrid automobiles, he argued, supply environmentally friendlier options with a few of the materials attracts of a gas-powered automobile.
“Plug-in hybrids offer the best of both worlds, combining the agility and low-rev boost of electric battery technology with the emotion and power output of an internal combustion engine,” Winkelmann stated.
Nonetheless, luxurious automobile manufacturers could not have the ability to keep away from the pivot to all-electric fully. The UK authorities intends to part out the sale of recent diesel and petrol automobiles by 2030. Within the European Union, these new gas-powered autos shall be banned by 2035, and by 2030, new automobiles should have a 55% discount in carbon dioxide.
Lamborghini is exempt from these rules by way of 2035 as a small-volume producer, and the corporate has lobbied the regulators arguing it has little environmental influence because of the few models on the roads. Winkelmann stated Lamborghini supercars accumulate lower than 2,000 miles per yr. He advised The Instances by 2030, Lamborghini would nonetheless have a variety of all plug-in hybrid autos.
“We have a big task as an automotive industry,” Winkelmann stated. “Everybody’s speaking about 2035, but there’s a big date which is very dangerous at 2030, due to the emissions. And this is something which is not clear enough, in my opinion, today.”
Winkelmann urged customers haven’t seen the tip of a battery-powered Lamborghini, however don’t count on it to hit streets anytime quickly.
“The times we are living in are fast moving; if you don’t react fast, you risk going out of business or losing momentum,” he stated. “Never say never, but only when the time is right.”
