Lamborghini's first EV is dead — and the company says customers just don't want one

Lamborghini has effectively conceded what many in the automotive world suspected: its customers do not want electric cars, and the company is not willing to force the issue.

The Italian supercar maker confirmed this week that the Lanzador — a 2+2 grand tourer originally unveiled as a concept in 2023 and planned as Lamborghini’s first production EV — will instead launch as a plug-in hybrid. Stefano Cossalter, Lamborghini’s product director for the Urus and Lanzador, told What Car? that the company now expects its first real EV no earlier than 2030.

The reasons are blunt. “Customers almost completely reject pure electric vehicles,” Cossalter said. “They have no interest and are not willing to buy them. We believe the current technology is not mature enough.”

This marks the third time Lamborghini has changed course on the Lanzador. CEO Stephan Winkelmann had previously pointed to cost as the main barrier, calling EV development “an expensive hobby” when the company shelved the all-electric version in February. Cossalter’s remarks go further. They challenge the premise of EVs themselves, not just their price tag.

The Lanzador concept, first shown at Monterey Car Week in 2023, was supposed to be Lamborghini’s fourth model line and its first step into an electric future. Three years later, that plan is effectively dead. The production version, expected sometime around 2029, will use a derivative of the twin-turbo 4.0-liter V8 plug-in hybrid system already found in the Urus.

Cossalter acknowledged that electric cars can deliver precise handling and strong power. But they lack something harder to engineer, he implied: emotion. That is a problem for a brand built on the visceral experience of a screaming V10 or V12.

Lamborghini also confirmed it has no plans for an electric Urus. The SUV will remain the brand’s only non-sports car for the foreseeable future. Behind the scenes, the company says it continues to work on battery cell chemistry and EV software. But the message from the top is clear: do not expect a production Lamborghini EV this decade.