Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann is not giving up on internal combustion engines just yet, as per Hype Beast. Electric vehicles may be the main focus of the auto industry right now, with carmakers across the globe expanding their electrification plans, but Winkelmann believes Lamborghini can still produce combustion engine vehicles beyond 2030.
Winkelmann made the revelation during an interview with a German newspaper recently, saying he is interested in keeping internal combustion engines alive despite Lamborghini's gradual shift towards electric and hybrid models.
The Volkswagen-owned supercar brand's CEO said, "After hybridization, we will wait to see whether it will be possible to offer vehicles with an internal combustion engine beyond 2030." Winkelmann brought up the possibility of using synthetic fuels to keep ICEs alive in the next decade.
Winkelmann's comments come after Lamborghini delayed its much-awaited release of a fully-electric car, moving the launch date from the previously-stated second half of the 2020s to the end of the decade instead, according to Robb Report. That was surprising since it was only last year, during the unveiling of Lamborghini's $1.8 billion "Cor Tauri" electrification strategy, that Winkelmann announced the brand's target of releasing its first fully electric model during the second half of the decade.
Winklemann backtracked from that statement last month, announcing that he was amending his pledge slightly. Winklemann said he was hopeful that the electrified Lambo would be released sometime before 2030.
Lamborghini's first electric vehicle won't arrive as quickly as we had hoped for, but the Italian marque is undoubtedly ramping up its plans towards an electric future. Lambo will release its final four vehicles that are purely powered by internal combustion engines this year, including a pair of Urus models and two new Huracáns. All of those models are already sold out, which may be why Lamborghini's recent reluctance to go fully electric.
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The problem for Lamborghini with regards to producing vehicles with internal combustion engines beyond the year 2030 is that it might not have many markets to sell those cars in the next decade. Many major automotive markets such as the United States have enacted laws banning the sale of new vehicles with internal combustion engines over the next 10 or 15 years.
Automakers are already starting to shift their business strategies towards electrification, with Hyundai completely ending production of gasoline-powered cars and Renault, Nissan, and Mitsubishi strengthening their alliance by allocating $25.8 billion to develop electric vehicles.
Auto Evolution reported that Lamborghini will soon incorporate electric power in its vehicles, with the follow-up to the Aventador being a plug-in hybrid powered in part by a new V-12 engine. That vehicle is scheduled to be released next year, while the rest of Lamborghini's lineup is expected to be fully hybridized by the year 2024.
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