- Lamborghini’s CEO said he doesn’t see China’s electric supercars 'as a threat.'
- He said China’s supercars could not offer the same performance, sound, and emotion as Lamborghini’s models.
- Lamborghini announced earlier this year that it would cancel its first electric vehicle.
It’s hard to ignore China’s influence on the global automotive industry. It dominates the EV market and has its sights set on every segment, but Lamborghini’s CEO isn’t worried about new supercar competitors from the country’s domestic automakers, at least not yet.
In an interview with Auto Express, Stephan Winkelmann told the publication that it doesn’t see China’s latest supercars "as a threat." China’s supercars are electric, a segment that Lamborghini has no desire to enter right now. The CEO said:
‘Because they are doing electric cars, and if we say we are not doing electric cars for a reason, then there is also an idea behind how we look at our Chinese competitors or Chinese manufacturers.’
Lamborghini announced earlier this year that it would cancel its first electric vehicle and focus on developing hybrids instead. At the time, Winkelmann said that interest in an all-electric model from the automaker was "close to zero."
Lamborghini’s Pivot
Lamborghini didn’t immediately cancel its electric vehicle when demand began to falter. Instead, the automaker first delayed its launch by a year until 2029, but those plans eventually changed.
In February, when Winkelmann announced the EV’s demise, he said investing in technology that lacked demand would have been “financially irresponsible towards shareholders.” It’s a decision that he's still quite happy to have made.
He believes China’s supercars fail to offer the same sound, performance, and “emotion” as Lamborghini’s hybrid supercars, but he’s aware things could change. China could one day offer true competitors to the Raging Bull’s lineup.
“I always say, never say never,” the executive added.
Motor1’s Take: Lamborghini’s decision to kill its EV was correct because those are cars its customers don’t want. The Italian automaker offers something different than China’s electric supercars that makes Lamborghini unique for now.
