Lamborghini focusing on exclusivity, residual values after huge sales growth

7NEWS

24-07-2025

While some luxury carmakers pursue rapid expansion, Lamborghini is opting to stabilise production at just over 10,000 units annually, despite demand for its latest models like the hybrid V8-powered Temerario far exceeding supply.
Lamborghini's global sales jumped from 3815 in 2017 to 10,687 in 2024, largely thanks to the introduction of the Urus in 2018. However the brand is now holding steady at around 10,000 units as its optimal production capacity.
Speaking to CarExpert, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said the company has already sold out roughly one year's worth of Temerario production, despite most customers not having driven the car or even seen it in person.
'We covered already, more or less, one year of production, which is a good sign. None of the customers have driven the car, they have barely seen the car,' he said.
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Like the Huracan it replaces, Lamborghini produces the body-in-white for the Temerario in Germany while final assembly for the roughly 2500 units per year take place in Italy.
The brand's operating profits are now the best in the entire Volkswagen Group, with 2024 representing A$1.5 billion, up from A$700 million in 2021.
Despite strong demand for all three of its models, Lamborghini has no plans to scale up significantly.
'We want to keep so it's not about the number of cars we sell. It's about having a good balance between order bank and residual value, and also in terms of financial results, we have to have the opportunity to reinvest in the future,' Mr Winkelmann explained.
The company's current model range – the Aventador -replacing Revuelto, the new Temerario, and the Urus SUV – is seen as sufficient to sustain its annual production cap.
'With the three models, we are more or less on the level we want to keep,' Mr Winkelmann added.
Asked whether Lamborghini could grow to 12 or 15,000 units annually by 2030, Mr Winkelmann dismissed the idea as neither a target nor a priority.
'The goal is to start the derivatisation of the cars we have now, to work on the fourth model. So we have a lot on our plate, and now we have had the growth we need to stabilise, and we will see what is happening next,' he said.
Mr Winkelmann noted that macroeconomic trends are already prompting caution in the luxury space.
'If the economy is turning into a, let's say, shrinking of the market, which is already happening because the peak was reached in 2023, 2024 is already lower. And we see also 2025 lower than '24,' he said.
While other luxury brands have been heavily impacted by downturns in China, Mr Winkelmann said Lamborghini has been more resilient.
'We were not overexposed in China. The majority of the luxury brands were overexposed in China. So already in the past years, they suffered much more than what was necessary,' he said.
The CEO also touched on the broader evolution of luxury car ownership, with more buyers seeking exclusivity and emotional value over pure performance specs.
'More and more is about what money can't buy. So the purchase of one car is just the starting point, so this is the starting point now and then you have to organise a lot of events, a lot of things which are crucial to what they think is important to be part of the brand,' he said.
'And this is something which is evolving constantly, and it's growing. It's something which was not like this a couple of decades ago.'
Lamborghini's strategy, according to Mr Winkelmann, is about maintaining long-term brand strength – not chasing volume.
'You have to be disruptive by keeping the Lamborghini brand a shining star… There is no value standing still. It is a constant [state pf] adaptation,' he said.
Lamborghini sold 273 cars in Australia in 2024, beating Ferrari for the first time by 27 units.