EVs an eventuality, but hybrids will prolong ICE cars: Lamborghini boss

There's no dearth of electric vehicles around the world in every segment, but unsurprisingly, supercar manufacturers have been relatively slow to shift to electric cars. Apart from a handful of traditional players like Porsche, Maserati and Lotus, who already have an electric supercar on sale, most supercar makers such as Lamborghini, Ferrari, McLaren and Aston Martin have only outlined a plan for battery-powered EVs – the actual products are still quite some time away.

The emotional aspects of a super sportscar – the sound, mechanical feel and vibrations – are some things that EVs simply haven’t been able to deliver. Speaking to Autocar India, Automobili Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann says incorporating these aspects “is going to be challenging to deliver [in an EV].”

No alternative to EVs on the path to zero emissions

“There is no clear substitute to full electric cars if you have to go down to zero emissions,” said Winkelmann. And with several governments across the world – including the US, the European Union and the UK – already having passed ambitious zero emission targets, for a niche carmaker like Lamborghini, it becomes quite complex to adhere to all these regulations.

“The legislators are telling us that we have to reduce emissions dramatically. Today, there are 17 different set of rules across the world around emissions, and that is making our lives very complex. But, on the other hand, we have a social responsibility and we have to be in line with these legislations,” he adds.

Hybridisation will help buy more time

Lamborghini has already announced that it will introduce its first EV – previewed by the Lanzador concept – by the end of this decade. However, given that Lamborghini is a relatively low volume manufacturer, their global impact on CO2 emissions isn’t as much, and with hybridisation of its entire line-up by the end of 2024, the carmaker will be able to buy some time to figure out the emotional aspect of its super sportscars, which in Winkelmann’s own words “is big for Lamborghini.”

“For our super sportscars – the Huracan replacement and the Revuelto – we are going to keep hybridisation alive as long as possible. Hybridisation gives