Lamborghini CEO axes $300,000 luxury EV, chalking it up to an ‘expensive hobby’ with ‘close to zero’ demand
· Fortune
Lamborghini is the latest luxury carmaker to admit the appetite for exclusive and expensive electric cars just isn’t there.
CEO Stephan Winkelmann confirmed in an interview with The Sunday Times this week Lamborghini is shelving its all-electric Lanzador and pivoting to plug-in hybrid vehicles. Winkelmann said the appeal within Lamborghini’s target market for battery-powered cars was “close to zero.”
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Lamborghini announced the Lanzador, a 1,341-horsepower “Ultra GT” and the maker’s fourth EV model, in 2023. The car was slated for a 2029 release with an estimated price tag of $300,000, but Lamborghini quietly retired the all-electric model at the end of 2025.
“The decision was made after over a year of continuous internal discussion, engaging with customers, dealers, market analysis, and global data,” Winkelmann said.
“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 did not respond to Fortune’s request for comment.
Lamborghini joins a growing list of luxury brands shrinking or deferring battery-powered cars. In 2024, its Volkswagen-owned sibling Bentley pushed back its electric-only goal from 2030 to 2035, and Porsche said in September 2025 it would substantially scale back its electrification plans, ditching efforts to build its own EV battery. The following month, Ferrari announced it would pare back its all-electric aspirations from an initial goal of 40% fully electric vehicle sales by the end of the decade down to 20%. But Ferrari, as of this month, still has plans to release its all-electric Luce in 2028.
Premium carmakers have likewise taken a step back from EV production, including Stellantis, owner of Chrysler, Jeep, and Fiat, which took a $26 billion EV write-down earlier this month. Ford announced in December 2025 it would take a $19.5 billion hit as it pivoted away from all-electric vehicles, including scrapping the fully electric F-150 Lightning. CEO Jim Farley said the company would instead pivot to more affordable and hybrid vehicles. Ford unveiled plans this month to launch an EV pickup next year starting at $30,000.
Why no one wants a luxury EV
The woes of higher-end brands does not reflect the greater EV industry. EV registrations grew 20% in 2025, according to data from Benchmark Mineral Intelligence, including a 17% boost in China and 33% leap in Europe. North America, conversely, saw a 4% drop in sales. To be sure, the consultancy did not see sustained growth in demand following an easing of global electrification targets and slowing demand in China.
Winkelmann said the sluggish demand for luxury EVs is not just a result of macroeconomic and political factors, but also of the cars being tactically less appealing than their internal combustion engine (ICE) counterparts. Customers miss the growling revving of gas vehicles with noisy internal combustion engines, the CEO noted. (Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna vowed in 2024 to retain the roar of its gas cars through a patented amplification system.)
“EVs, in their current form, struggle to deliver this specific emotional connection,” Winkelmann said.
Hybrid cars, he argued, offer environmentally friendlier features with some of the material draws of a gas-powered car.
“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 said.
Still, luxury car brands may not be able to avoid the pivot to all-electric completely. The UK government intends to phase out the sale of new diesel and petrol cars by 2030. In the European Union, those new gas-powered vehicles will be banned by 2035, and by 2030, new cars must have a 55% reduction in carbon dioxide.
Lamborghini is exempt from these regulations through 2035 as a small-volume manufacturer, and the company has lobbied the regulators arguing it has little environmental impact due to the few units on the roads. Winkelmann said Lamborghini supercars accumulate less than 2,000 miles per year. He told The Times by 2030, Lamborghini would still have a range of all plug-in hybrid vehicles.
“We have a big task as an automotive industry,” Winkelmann said. “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 suggested consumers have not seen the end of a battery-powered Lamborghini, but don’t expect it to hit streets anytime soon.
“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 said. “Never say never, but only when the time is right.”
This story was originally featured on Fortune.com