Lamborghini has scrapped its first fully electric vehicle, the Lanzador, and will instead produce the model as a plug-in hybrid. CEO Stephan Winkelmann said customer interest in a pure battery-powered supercar is “close to zero” and vowed to build combustion engines “as long as possible.” The reversal undercuts the Italian brand’s electrification roadmap and adds to the debate over how the EU’s 2035 zero-emission target will play out for low-volume luxury makers.
Lanzador Loses Its Battery
Lamborghini originally mapped out the Lanzador as the company’s gateway to full electrification. Under the brand’s Direzione Cor Tauri strategy, the planned Lanzador EV was expected later in the decade, with some reporting previously pointing to 2029. That two-step plan would have made Lamborghini one of the last major European performance brands to go electric, yet it still signaled a clear commitment to zero-emission driving within the decade and reassured regulators that even the most flamboyant supercar makers were on a path toward compliance.
That commitment is now off the table. Winkelmann confirmed the Lanzador will arrive as a plug-in hybrid rather than a pure EV, according to coverage in Car and Driver, and reiterated to The Sunday Times that his customers want the visceral experience of internal combustion. The Guardian reports that he described demand for a silent, battery-only Lamborghini as effectively negligible, with interest “close to zero,” an unusually blunt assessment for a chief executive in a sector pouring billions into electrification. By recasting its first electric car as a hybrid, Lamborghini is not just tweaking a product plan; it is publicly questioning whether the supercar segment needs full battery power at all.
Record Sales Fuel the Hybrid Bet
Lamborghini’s confidence in delaying full electrification is not abstract. The company delivered a record number of cars in 2025, surpassing 10,700 units, a performance the brand links directly to the success of its plug-in hybrid Revuelto and the enduring appeal of combustion-heavy models. When a company is posting its best sales year ever on the back of hybrid powertrains, the internal business case for rushing toward a technology its buyers do not want becomes harder to justify. Winkelmann has framed the hybridization strategy as proof that Lamborghini can cut emissions and meet tightening standards without abandoning the engine note and throttle response that define its identity.
That framing matters because it gives other low-volume, high-margin manufacturers a template for resisting a rapid shift to pure EVs. If Lamborghini can grow sales while treating plug-in hybrids as the ceiling rather than a stepping stone, the pressure on rival brands like Ferrari, Aston Martin, and Pagani to commit to full battery power weakens. The argument shifts from “when will you go electric?” to “why should you, when hybrids sell better?” For buyers spending well into six figures on a car, the emotional connection to a V10 or V12 is part of the purchase, and Winkelmann is betting that this connection will outlast regulatory timelines. As long as customers are willing to wait for build slots and pay premiums, Lamborghini can present its hybrid-heavy order book as a market verdict against all-electric supercars.
The EU’s 2035 Deadline Looms
Lamborghini’s pivot does not exist in a regulatory vacuum. EU rules on CO2 emissions, set out in Regulation (EU) 2023/851, tighten fleet-wide reduction targets through the 2020s and culminate in a 100% cut for new passenger cars from January 1, 2035. In practical terms, no new combustion-only or conventional hybrid vehicle sold in the European Union after that date is supposed to emit CO2 at the tailpipe. Winkelmann’s pledge to keep building gas engines “as long as possible” is therefore a statement with a legal expiration date, unless lawmakers carve out new exemptions or reinterpret what qualifies as zero-emission.
The regulation does include a review clause, and political pressure from automakers, labor unions, and member states has already prompted debate about whether the 2035 target is realistic across every segment, from budget city cars to ultra-rare hypercars. Lamborghini, as part of the wider Volkswagen Group, benefits from fleet-averaging rules that allow a parent company to offset the emissions of a low-volume brand against cleaner models elsewhere in its portfolio. But those mechanisms do not erase the 2035 mandate; they only smooth the path toward it. If Lamborghini’s stance emboldens other luxury manufacturers to slow-walk or shelve their own EV programs, regulators may face a widening gap between policy ambition and industry behavior, forcing a choice between stricter enforcement and politically awkward delays.
Why “Close to Zero” Deserves Scrutiny
Winkelmann’s claim that customer interest in a Lamborghini EV is “close to zero” is worth examining on its own terms. No public survey data or detailed sales projection has been released to substantiate the phrase, and the company has not disclosed how many potential buyers expressed interest in the original Lanzador EV concept. What is visible is the broader market context: Lamborghini’s hybrids are selling strongly, while fully electric supercars remain a niche. The Guardian notes that the Rimac Nevera and similar halo EVs have not yet matched the demand seen for traditional combustion-powered rivals, suggesting that the ultra-luxury performance segment is lagging behind the mass market in embracing battery-only power.
Still, “close to zero” today does not mean zero forever. Battery technology, charging infrastructure, and consumer attitudes are all evolving, and the buyers who will shop for a Lamborghini in the early 2030s may be more comfortable with silent acceleration than today’s clientele. By canceling the Lanzador EV and converting it to a plug-in hybrid, Lamborghini is making a time-sensitive bet that the emotional appeal of combustion will outlast regulatory and technological pressure. That wager looks relatively safe in 2026, given ongoing questions in the broader market about charging convenience and long-term EV ownership economics. Whether it holds through the end of the decade will depend on factors far beyond Sant’Agata’s control, from EU enforcement priorities to the pace at which batteries become lighter, cheaper, and more durable.
What the Reversal Signals for the Supercar Market
Lamborghini’s move sends a clear signal to the rest of the supercar world: there is still room, at least for now, to slow-roll full electrification. If one of the most visible performance brands can publicly abandon its first pure EV without immediate regulatory backlash, others may feel emboldened to prioritize hybrids and synthetic-fuel experiments over battery-only flagships. Ferrari has already emphasized the emotional qualities of its engines, Aston Martin has repeatedly delayed its EV plans, and niche makers like Pagani have voiced skepticism about heavy battery packs. In that environment, Lamborghini’s decision becomes a data point for executives arguing that their customers are not ready to give up combustion, and that regulators should accommodate a longer transition for low-volume exotics.
At the same time, the reversal exposes a tension between how car culture is covered and how it is monetized. Publications that reported on the cancellation, such as Car and Driver and The Guardian, also serve enthusiasts through shopping platforms and subscription offers that often highlight combustion icons as much as cutting-edge EVs. Their parent companies, governed by policies like Hearst’s privacy notice, collect data on what readers click, share, and buy. If traffic and affiliate sales lean heavily toward traditional supercars, that feedback loop may reinforce the perception inside automakers that emotional, engine-led storytelling still resonates more strongly than narratives about kilowatts and charging curves.
A Test Case for Policy and Perception
The Lanzador’s transformation from flagship EV to plug-in hybrid is more than a product tweak; it is a live test of how far regulators and consumers are willing to bend for an emotionally charged niche. On one side are EU climate targets, national decarbonization plans, and urban air-quality concerns that argue for phasing out tailpipes as quickly as possible. On the other are cultural icons like Lamborghini, whose brand value rests on sound, vibration, and a sense of mechanical theater that many enthusiasts fear could be diluted by batteries. The outcome of this clash will help determine whether supercar makers are treated as special cases or held to the same standards as mass-market manufacturers.
For now, Lamborghini is threading a narrow path: leaning on hybrids to reduce emissions, using record sales to justify its caution on full EVs, and signaling to lawmakers that it is moving, but on its own terms. If regulators hold firm on 2035, the company will eventually have to square its rhetoric with zero-emission reality, perhaps by revisiting an electric Lanzador or developing an all-new EV halo car. If the deadline slips or exemptions widen, the brand’s bet on combustion could look prescient. Either way, the decision to pull the plug on its first electric supercar has turned Lamborghini into a bellwether for how climate policy, consumer desire, and automotive passion will collide in the decade ahead.
More from Morning Overview
*This article was researched with the help of AI, with human editors creating the final content.
