Lamborghini Kills Its First Electric Car Because The Target Market Was 'Close To Zero'

Lamborghini is giving up on its eclectic ambitions after coming to the realziation that buyers just aren't that interested in an all-electric Lambo. Its chief executive, Stephan Winkelmann, said EV development at the company was at risk of becoming an "expensive hobby." Because of that, the upcoming Lanzador EV that we first saw in 2023 will no longer join the lineup.

This really isn't too much of a shock. I mean, last Summer we told you that Lamborghini was mulling over the idea of ditching the Lanzador in favor of more plug-in hybrids. Well, that seems to be the plan the folks in Sant'Agata Bolognese are going with, according to The Sunday Times, which spoke with Winkelmann. By 2030, all Lamborghinis are set to be PHEVs, he told the paper, but the company will continue to build internal combustion engines "for as long as possible." This fourth PHEV will join the Urus, Temerario, and Revuelto — all of which are already electrified.

Winkelmann pointed to a lack of demand as a driving force behind the decision, telling The Times that the "acceptance curve" for electric vehicles from Lamborghini's customer base was flattening and "close to zero." He added that its customers valued the "emotional experience" of their Lamborghinis, and a gas engine was crucial to that formula. I've driven some really fantastic EVs in my time, and I'll fully admit that it's almost impossible to replicate the feeling of a great gas engine in an electric car. Winkelmann — and Lamborghini's customers — seem to agree.

"EVs, in their current form, struggle to deliver this specific emotional connection," he told The Times.

Executives inside Lamborghini have apparently been going back and forth over what to do with the Lanzador since the beginning of last year, but the decision to kill it was ultimately made quietly at the end of 2025. Winkelmann says disucssions were held not only internally, but with customers and dealers, as well.

"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 told The Times.

For those of you who were — for whatever reason — really holding out hope for a Lamborghini EV, Winkelmann didn't shut the door entirely, saying "Never say never, but only when the time is right." He wouldn't offer any sort of timeline, only that the company would focus on PHEVs for the "foreseeable future," and Lamborghini will continue development on electrification efforts because it needs to be ready when customers are finally ready to make the switch.

"The times we are living in are fast moving; if you don't react fast, you risk going out of business or losing momentum. Therefore [we need] a solid financial base to reinvest in the future," he told The Times.

This is hardly the first EV to die before it got the chance to live. Porsche is mulling over killing the electric Boxster and Cayman after all sorts of development problems, and Ram killed its all-electric REV pickup. There are also plenty of in-production EVs whose lives are being cut short as registrations tank around the globe. It's tough to see. 

Of course, Ferrari is still going forward with its Luce EV, so it must feel there's a market out there somewhere, but different strokes for different folks, I suppose.