MONTERREY. Lamborghini has decided to take the first step towards electrification. The goal that the exotic car brand owned by the Volkswagen group has set for itself is ambitious: in 2023 it will launch its first serial production hybrid model and by the end of 2024 the entire range will be electrified. Achieving it will require an initial outlay of 1,800 million euros (around 1,813 million dollars) and titanic marketing work to provide the brand with new attributes.
“We are in a company that is very proud of the internal combustion engine, but obviously we are very sensitive to new needs and we know that it is imperative for everyone to have a zero emissions scenario,” says Andrea Baldi, CEO of Lamborghini in America.
Today, the main reason people buy a Lamborghini is because of its bold design and colors and because of the noise its gasoline engines make. But electrification is something that, at this point, seems inevitable for vehicle manufacturers, not only because of the various announcements made by various countries to ban the circulation of gasoline models from the next decade, or because of the emission limits increasingly strict that manufacturers have to comply with, but because there is a new generation of customers who are increasingly comfortable with the idea of electromobility.
“In the next two years, we will gradually migrate to hybridization. But migrating completely towards electrification will take several more years, since it takes around five years to develop a producer”, details Baldi.
Lamborghini presented in May 2021 a roadmap for the decarbonization of its future models and Baldi explained that 2022 will be the last year in which the brand will only offer cars with an internal combustion engine. “The next significant step is going to be taken in 2023,” says Baldi.
The plug-in hybrid Aventador will arrive in 2023 with an all-new V12 engine. In 2024 it will also launch plug-in hybrid versions of Urus and Huracán. With the introduction of these new variants of its range, Lamborghini completes the first step of its strategy, which will allow it to halve CO2 emissions, compared to the current ones, by 2025.
The manufacturer has come up with a two-pronged response to the move towards electrification. First, it will launch hybrid supercars that have the look and feel of a traditional Lamborghini with the aim of appealing to motor lovers. Then, for the new generation of buyers who want and expect electric vehicles, there will be a new “fourth model”: a purely electric grand tourer due in 2028.
“The performance and authentic Lamborghini driving experience will continue to be the focus of the company’s engineers and technicians in the development of new technologies, and the application of lightweight carbon fiber materials will be crucial to offset the weight due to electrification”, the company announced in May 2021.
Baldi said that Lamborghini, in addition to placing emphasis on guaranteeing remarkable performance, will seek to position the new product at the top of its segment, a strategy similar to that of Porsche – another brand of the Volkswagen Group -, which placed its first electric Taycan in the top of its range.
With an 800V system voltage—instead of the 400V commonly used by most manufacturers—you can get better charging times. Using high-power chargers, with a maximum charging capacity of 270 kW, the battery goes from 5% to 80% in just 22.5 minutes.
Baldi said the brand is also looking at dipping into e-fuels , or clean synthetic fuels. In addition to having virtually neutral carbon emissions, their distribution does not require any adaptation at current service stations. It is an option so that owners of existing vehicles can continue to use their vehicles with combustion engines in the following decade.
“Electrification is just one of the possibilities, but there are other ways to reduce emissions and we are considering all options,” says Baldi. “We don’t want to be the first, we want to be the best. Then the products will reach the market when we are ready”, he says.
