[Herald Interview] 'Lamborghinis will always have steering wheel'

Automakers around the world are racing to develop advanced technology in autonomous driving and battery-powered vehicles. But for Italian luxury supercar brand Lamborghini, those are not the main concerns.

“Lamborghini will always have a steering wheel in the cars,” said Stephan Winkelmann, CEO of Automobili Lamborghini in a video interview with a group of Korean reporters after the opening ceremony of Lamborghini Bundang in Gyeonggi Province.

“We might have assisted driving for heavy traffic, but Lamborghini will always have a steering wheel in the car because it’s about enjoying the drive and being a skilled driver.”

The Italian supercar-maker celebrated the opening of the brand's newest showroom here, its first outside Seoul. Italia Automobili, which was tapped as Lamborghini's official dealer last year, is in charge of the 541-square-meter Bundang showroom in Pangyo Techno Valley.

"As Korea is one of the major markets with high growth potential, it's important to expand stores to get closer to the customers," said the CEO.

"The newly opened Bundang showroom, which has set up an 'Ad Personam' lounge where customers' dream cars can be customized, aims to offer better services."

Lamborghini unveiled the Urus SE -- the brand’s first plug-in hybrid sport utility vehicle -- for the first time in Korea the previous day. The automaker held the world premiere of the hybrid SUV at the Beijing International Auto Show in April.

“About electrification, for a super sports car company, this period of time is not an evolution anymore,” said Winkelmann.

“It’s a very revolutionary process and we have a clear strategy. We said we don’t need to be the first ones to do those types of things. The electrification is going in having all the cars plug-in hybrids. First the Revuelto, then the Urus and later this year we will also have the Huracan.”

The Lamborghini CEO underlined that the direction is simple and clear, as the brand looks to deliver supercars with more performance and less carbon dioxide emissions.

“The next step: a full electrification. We will split the lineup in two. We will continue with the supercars going hybrid as long as possible. And for the fourth model and the Urus’ next generation will be the cars, which will be fully electric,” he said, referring to the fourth model, the Lamborghini Lanzador, its first all-electric vehicle slated to be produced in 2028.

“So for more daily usable cars, we think that they are more likely to be accepted as fully electric cars. And I speak about the end of this decade or the beginning of the next decade so we have enough time to prepare and show our customers that fully electric cars can be really emotional.”

Lamborghini sold a record 434 vehicles in Korea last year, as the country became the Italian automaker’s seventh-biggest market while beating out the brand’s home turf of Italy, which came in eighth place with 409 sold. Lamborghini sold 195 vehicles in Korea in the first half of this year, up 7.7 percent on year, as the brand looks to log another record year.

Asked about its increasing sales volume that could diminish the brand’s luxury appeal, Winkelmann swiftly dismissed the concern.

“We always sell less than demand and we are very closely looking at the length of our order bank,” he said.

“On the other hand, we look into the residual value of the car, so the used car prices, and on average we have after a couple of years the same price or even a higher price than the new car. This is giving you the idea of how valuable the brand is.”

The Lamborghini CEO added that the brand delivered about 10,000 cars last year, which is a very small portion of the global total of 75 million vehicle deliveries per year, pointing out that exclusivity is part of the luxury world.

Korean companies -- Hankook Tire and Technology and Samsung SDI -- have partnerships with Lamborghini as the former provides tires for the Italian supercar brand’s racing activities while the latter supplies electric vehicle batteries for the Urus SE. Regarding expanding collaboration with Korean firms, Winkelmann said, “We are always looking for new opportunities around the globe and, for sure, Korea is an important country in terms of partnerships with Lamborghini.”