Lamborghini has again defended its decision to turn the electric Lanzador into a plug-in hybrid. This time, the argument is no longer only about weak demand or poor returns. Product director Stefano Cossalter says EV technology is not mature enough to deliver the emotion Lamborghini owners expect.

Cossalter, responsible for the Urus and Lanzador, told What Car? that customers showed “little to no acceptance” of a battery-powered Lamborghini. They wanted neither an electric Lanzador nor an electric Urus.

The 2+2 grand tourer is now expected around the end of the decade with a plug-in hybrid powertrain, while Lamborghini’s first fully electric model is unlikely before 2030.

That completes a remarkable retreat. When Lamborghini unveiled the Lanzador in 2023, it presented the more than one-megawatt concept as the beginning of a new “Ultra GT” category, with production planned for 2028.

The date was later moved to 2029. In February, CEO Stephan Winkelmann confirmed that the production car would become a plug-in hybrid. The original Lanzador EV has therefore effectively been canceled, with Lamborghini’s first battery model pushed beyond 2030.

Technology or business case?

The claim that EV technology is not ready is debatable. Rimac has demonstrated astonishing acceleration with the Nevera, Ferrari’s 1,050 hp Luce promises 530 kilometers of range, and BYD’s Yangwang U9 Xtreme has used four motors and a 1,200-volt architecture to set performance records.

Its claimed 496 km/h top speed is no proof of Lamborghini emotion, but it shows that battery technology can deliver extremes.

Lamborghini can also draw on Audi, Porsche, and the wider Volkswagen Group for batteries, motors, electronics, and software. However, that route has become less predictable.

Porsche postponed and redesigned a next-generation electric platform intended for several Group brands, moving it into the 2030s and booking heavy charges. Sharing technology reduces development costs, but not the commercial risk of adapting it for a few thousand expensive cars.

The real obstacle appears to be the customer. Lamborghini delivered a record 10,747 cars in 2025 on €3.2 billion in revenue. Its €515,000 Revuelto and lucrative personalization program shows that buyers will spend heavily when they recognize the traditional recipe.

Many already own an EV as a daily car. They do not necessarily want another one for the emotional purchase in their garage.

That is why making an electric Lamborghini faster or more expensive will not automatically solve the problem. A Revuelto buyer is not merely paying for acceleration. The engine, gear changes, vibration, design, heritage, and expected collector value are all part of the product. An electric hypercar can beat it on paper and still feel less valuable.

How can Lamborghini sell an EV?

The first step would be not to present it as a replacement for a V8 or V12 Lamborghini. The original Lanzador had the right strategic idea. It created a fourth model line with four seats, greater usability, and a different purpose. That gives electrification room to add something rather than remove the engine from an existing icon.

Lamborghini could also keep plug-in hybrid versions of the Revuelto, Temerario, and Urus alongside the EV during a long transition. Customers would choose among different experiences rather than being told the familiar one has expired. Ferrari is taking a comparable route by adding the electric Luce without immediately abandoning combustion and hybrid models.

The EV itself must offer theatre that belongs to electricity. Simulated V12 noise and artificial gearshifts might reassure some drivers, but copying combustion risks makes the car feel like an imitation.

Lamborghini could instead amplify real motor and inverter frequencies, use active aerodynamics and suspension more dramatically, and make four-motor torque control visible and adjustable. Battery temperature and available performance could become part of the driving ritual.

Limited production would also help. A numbered first series, sold to selected existing customers and supported by factory events, could create rarity and protect residual values.

Yangwang is attempting something similar with the U9 Xtreme, a 3,000 hp electric hypercar limited to just 30 units. Its four motors, 1,200-volt architecture, and claimed top speed of 496 km/h make it more of a rolling technology demonstrator than a conventional supercar.

Chinese performance brands may initially enter Lamborghini collections as technological curiosities rather than replacements. However, every speed record, Nürburgring lap, and Goodwood appearance helps them build the mythology they still lack.

The danger of waiting

Lamborghini’s caution is financially understandable. Its 2025 operating income fell from €835 million to €768 million, partly due to charges related to the abandoned EV program. Developing a bespoke electric car with uncertain demand could become, as Winkelmann called it, an expensive hobby.

Waiting beyond 2030 carries another risk. Ferrari, Porsche, Rimac, and Chinese manufacturers will accumulate years of experience with battery cooling, software, torque vectoring, and electric customer behavior.

Lamborghini can continue developing cells and software in the background, but it cannot learn everything without putting cars into customers’ hands.

The question is not whether Lamborghini can build a fast electric car. It clearly can, particularly because it does not stand alone. Lamborghini is wholly owned by Audi, giving it access to Volkswagen Group purchasing power as well as Audi’s electric architectures, high-voltage systems, software, testing facilities, and industrial expertise.

Audi and Porsche jointly developed the PPE platform, showing how costly core technology can be shared while each brand retains its own design and driving character.

Outright performance is not the problem either. Electric hypercars already accelerate harder and distribute torque more precisely than most combustion models.

Technical foundation, not emotion

Audi and Volkswagen Group can provide much of the technical foundation. Lamborghini must add the suspension, aerodynamics, controls, and character that make the finished car feel unique.

The real challenge is preventing it from feeling like an exceptionally powerful relative of an Audi or Porsche. Customers must believe that electricity creates a new kind of drama, with its own sound, sensations, rituals, and sense of occasion. They must also trust that the car will remain rare, desirable, and valuable once the novelty of its acceleration has faded.

That requires more than mature batteries and access to Audi technology. It requires unmistakable design, controlled scarcity, spectacular but usable innovations, and a convincing story about why an electric Lamborghini deserves a place beside the brand’s V10 and V12 icons.

Audi can provide the technological backbone, but not the Lamborghini emotion. Only Lamborghini can turn it into a genuine raging bull.