Lamborghini CEO Defends Lanzador EV Cancellation As Ferrari Luce Faces Backlash

Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann has defended the decision to cancel the company's all-electric Lanzador project, calling it the right move. The update comes amid growing scrutiny over Ferrari's recently unveiled electric car, the Luce. Winkelmann's comments come just two days after Ferrari's first fully electric vehicle attracted significant criticism from fans and industry experts alike.

Following the Luce's unveiling, Ferrari's shares dropped 8 per cent, reportedly wiping out 5.38 billion USD in market value overnight. The market reaction signals strong skepticism toward the brand's electric direction.

Also Read: 2026 Tata Tiago, Tiago EV Facelifts Launch LIVE: Price, Features, Specs, And More

The Luce's unconventional design marks a clear departure from Ferrari's traditional aesthetics, adopting a completely new philosophy for the electric era. However, enthusiasts accustomed to Ferrari's iconic red, multi-cylinder, combustion-powered machines with aggressive aero found the Luce difficult to accept, leading to widespread online criticism.

Also Read: Nitin Gadkari To Launch Hero MotoCorp's First Flex Fuel Motorcycle On June 3

Against this backdrop, Winkelmann told CNBC that Lamborghini's shift toward plug-in hybrids rather than full electrification was a strategic choice that has already proven successful.

Also Read: Watch: Pope Leo XIV Checks Out Ferrari's Controversial Luce Electric Car

"Our decision to go from [traditional internal combustion engine] to plug-in was a very important one for us, and it worked out," Winkelmann said. "We don't speak about our competitors ... but everybody has their own strategy."

Although he avoided directly referencing the Luce, Winkelmann noted that Lamborghini observed weak EV acceptance among its customer base. "By observing the market ... we saw that the acceptance curve [of EVs] for our type of customers is not increasing, and that therefore we decided to move away from a full-electric car into a plug-in hybrid," he told CNBC.

Lamborghini previously scrapped both the Lanzador EV and Urus EV projects in favor of plug-in hybrid technology. At the time, the brand had said that their customers valued the "emotional experience" of their cars, which was from the mechanical feel of V8 and V12 engines. CEO Winkelman had said that the EVs fail to offer the "emotional connection".