We talk to Stephan Winkelmann, chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, following the brand’s stellar 2024 results.
Lamborghini charges into 2025 on a high note, with 2024 a record year (and best ever!) for the Raging Bull in terms of sales, operating income and deliveries.
The Sant’Agata Bolognese-based car-maker posted revenues of over €3bn (up 16.2% from 2023) and a rise in operating income to €835m (up 15.5% from 2023).
Overall sales across all the major regions (Americas, EMEA and APAC) have gone up too, with the record 10,687 cars delivered in 2024 representing a 5.7% y-o-y growth.
“Lamborghini is in a positive trend against the declining global trend (from 2023 to 2024) of the luxury automobile business. This is important to underline, because we’ve always been conservative in the approach by maintaining scarcity and a controlled growth rate, as well as looking to balance the order bank on one side and preserving residual values on the other,” says Stephan Winkelmann (pictured above), chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini.
See also: We dance on ice with a herd of Raging Bulls
He continues, “We never pushed aggressively, and always looked at residual values and maintained a solid order bank (of about 1 to 1.5 years). We were looking for gradual growth and not necessarily maximising the market’s potential. All this, coupled to the investment in the brand and our new models have proven to be a good recipe for resilience in different states of the economy. It helps that we adopt a tense look at market trends and the economy in general.”
Paolo Poma (pictured above), managing director and CFO of Automobili Lamborghini, adds, “The company continued to grow from both a financial and a business perspective in 2024, confirming similar levels of profitability recorded by the leading global luxury brands. In this challenging context, our goal remains that of achieving sustainable growth from both a financial and environmental point of view, creating value for all our stakeholders.”
See also: The Lamborghini Revuelto is a hybrid super-sportscar
In a nod to the evolving times, the brand’s products have been hybridised (a powertrain this writer feels is still the most relevant), with the Huracan replacement, the Temamario, joining its two other plug-in hybrid (PHEV) stable-mates, the Urus SE crossover and the V12 Revuelto (pictured above).
Despite the furious virtue-signalling by EV-angelists, going green does not necessarily have to mean going electric, especially since the book-ends of battery sourcing and disposal remain contentious issues.
“At present, our plan is to have the PHEV models (and thus combustion engines) for as long as possible. We have time to decide, because the cars are new, and based on order intake and talking to our dealers, customers have accepted and digested our hybrid models,” Winkelmann says. (Pictured above is the Temarario)
And what of an all-electric Lamborghini (pictured above is the all-electric Lanzador concept)? “We’ll stick to our timeline of having a full-electric car by the end of the decade,” Winkelmann tells us. “This will be the fourth model and it will be our two-door 2+2 GT car. For full electrification of the line-up, it’s often said that 2035 is a target for big markets to aim for, but there’s still some opportunity with alternatives such as synthetic fuels. ”
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The players in the super-sportscar segment have a little more latitude than the mass-market and mass-premium brands. In such a rarefied realm, Lamborghini doesn’t have to worry about having its strategies thrown off-tangent by the influx of new entrants, which is something afflicting the volume players.
This means that Lamborghini can continue to do what it does best and in the right way, as well as observe market trends and changing legislation with regards to electrification.
“We’re not in a rush to go full-electric in the immediate future, because we’re still ten years away from 2035. We don’t need to decide before the end of the decade,” Winkelmann tells us.
Emotion is a big part of what makes any Lamborghini so evocative, and the soundtrack plays a big part in this. This isn’t as big a concern for the PHEV models (Urus SE pictured above), because they have a V8 (or V12) combustion component. For the full-electric vehicles, Lamborghini has not yet decided on whether it will adopt the synthesised sound approach.
“Personally, I am not in favour of having a synthesised combustion engine sound for an electric car, even if it can create some good feedback for the driver,” adds Winkelmann. He also qualifies though, that his view may not be something that is true for the future.
He continues, “Besides the sound, it is important that you get the feeling of driving a Lamborghini. The design, feedback and ‘lightfooted’ handling behaviour are very important to focus on for our future electric sportscars.”
Ferrari and McLaren have their special series of super-sportscars (Icona and Ultimate respectively), does Lamborghini intend to create such cars? “If you look at the Revuelto Temarario and Urus, some of the models are at the top of their segments – they are the best that you can buy. We were focusing on this, and we have a lot of other things in the pipeline, including a fourth model, so we should not overdo things.”
Beyond the brand’s super-sportscars, there are the owners. It is always about engaging the owners through the Esperienza, Academia and Polo Storico activities.
Winkelmann concurs, “The purchase and ownership of a Lamborghini is only the first step. The owner joins an exclusive community that is more akin to a family. We’re constantly exploring new ideas to curate activities that money cannot buy. The competition with our peers is not just to see who can sell more cars, but who can create better experiences for its owners.”
