 "Lamborghini India looking to reduce CO2 emissions by 50% by 2025")
When it comes to the environment, Automobili Lamborghini takes no chances. The Italian automotive giant likes its cars to be greener, cleaner, and even meaner than ever before.
Its India arm is looking to cut carbon dioxide emissions by 50 per cent by 2025 and by 80 per cent by the end of the decade. This, says Sharad Agarwal, head, Lamborghini India, is in line with the luxury carmaker’s global ambitions.
Clearly, despite Italy generally opposing the European Union’s plan for carbon neutrality by 2035, one of its most famous carmakers is stepping up its electrification plans.
It will be introducing the Lamborghini Revuelto, a plug-in hybrid this year. It has plans to bring in the Urus hybrid - tipped to break cover this year as the most powerful iteration yet - and the Huracán hybrid next year, informed a senior company executive.
The company has set a target of selling no less than 100 cars in India this calendar year. Last year was its best-ever: it sold 92 cars in India, growing 33 per cent.
The first quarter of 2023 has been upbeat, says Agarwal, and there is a good order bank for the supercars.
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In 2022, India was one of the fastest-growing markets in the Asia-Pacific (APAC) region. The APAC market had grown by about 14 per cent, while global sales had clocked 10 per cent growth.
Wealth is not concentrated only in the metros: the hinterland is turning out to be a success story for the Sant’Agata Bolognese-headquartered manufacturer of sports cars and sport utility vehicles (SUVs). The company is increasingly getting a significant portion of its sales from smaller (more aspirational) towns and cities, with 25 per cent of sales coming from tier II and III towns. With better road infrastructure and high-speed expressways, this market is only set to grow faster, says the company.
Agarwal says the Revuelto preview will be available to the discerning Indian customer in 2023. Deliveries of the two-seater coupé will start in 2024.
“We are working on the timelines. But we plan to bring the Urus and the Huracán hybrids in 2024,” he confirms.
On Thursday, it launched the Urus S, which has the Performante-like potency, but with more comfort at Rs 4.18 crore. The Urus is a part of the super SUV category by the Italian motoring giant. The new Urus S is the second car in the super SUV line-up. It offers an acceleration of 0-100 kilometre per hour (km/h) in 3.5 seconds and a top speed of 305 km/h. It comes with six drive modes plus an EGO mode. It also packs a 4.0-litre V8 twin-turbo engine producing 850 Nm of torque. It comes with up to eight airbags.
Agarwal says the Urus range accounts for nearly 60 per cent of the total sales in India. It now sells the Urus Performante for Rs 4.6 crore in India. The new Urus S is more of a lifestyle car and has everyday versatility.
As for any constraints on the production of its high-end cars due to a shortage of electronic parts like semiconductor chips, Agarwal says it has been an issue for the global automotive industry for the past few years, but the production team in Italy has been managing it well so far.
Unlike mainstream brands that have had to cut back production, causing prices to spiral sharply as supply dwindled, it has been business as usual for Lamborghini.
Its strategy has always been to work closely with its suppliers and share its five-year production plan with its main and key suppliers.
“We are meeting all our delivery commitments so far,” he signs off.