Lamborghini tiptoes toward EV with new SUV

ROME: Lamborghini SpA unveiled a hybrid version of its bestselling Urus sport utility vehicle (SUV) on April 24, in a bid to diversify its range without going fully electric.

The 2025 Lamborghini Urus SE pairs a twin-turbo V8 engine with an electric motor for a total of 789 horsepower and 700 pound-feet of torque to blast down the highway. It’s faster than the current Urus, with a zero to 62mph sprint of 3.4 seconds and a top speed of 193mph.

Slated for deliveries in early 2025, the Urus SE will compete against the US$146,900 Porsche Cayenne Turbo E-Hybrid and US$200,000 Bentley Bentayga Hybrid. Pricing will start at US$258,000, a roughly 8% markup over the Urus S.

The Urus SE comes with all-wheel drive, 11 drive modes and 37 miles of all-electric driving range.

Like last year’s Revuelto hybrid supercar, this second hybrid from Lamborghini eases efficiency numbers, some 80% reduction in emissions compared with the conventional Urus, it says, along with improved aerodynamic and cooling efficiency; fuel efficiency results have yet to be released.

The hybrid SUV’s debut comes during a tense time in the high-end automotive sector as some companies are introducing fully electric SUVs, while others alter their playbooks as global demand for electric vehicles (EVs) cools.

On April 23, Mercedes-Benz Group AG unveiled its first electric G-Wagon at a party in Beverly Hills, and Ferrari NV plunged into hybrids years ago with the LaFerrari in 2013, the SF90 Stradale in 2019 and the 296 GTB in 2021.

It will make an electric supercar in 2025. By contrast, Lamborghini won’t make its first all-electric model, the Lanzador, until 2028, a spokesperson confirmed.

It’s a deliberate wait-and-see approach, says chief executive officer Stephan Winkelmann, who describes the company as being in a “lucky position” to start hybridisation only now.

As governments roll back EV targets and consumer appetite for electric cars wanes, the comparatively late start buys time to optimise Lambo’s EV strategy, Winkelmann said in an interview on March 13.

“We have almost a decade in front of us where we can live with hybridisation,” he explained. “We don’t need to be the first one on the market, but when we come, we have to be the best.”

The calculation hasn’t seemed to hurt sales.

Last year, Lamborghini sold a record 10,112 vehicles; more than half were the Urus SUV. Total revenue for the automaker, based in Sant’Agata Bolognese, Italy, was €2.66bil, up 12.1% over 2022.

Once the hybrid variant reaches full production, its ability to combine feel-good fuel savings with raw power could lead it to comprise half of all Urus sales, Winkelmann said. — Bloomberg