Skip to main content

Lamborghini to launch new "everyday" model


Italian supercar maker Lamborghini is considering adding an "everyday" model to its line-up, its chief executive Stephan Winkelmann said at the Reuters Global Luxury and Fashion Summit.
Lamborghini, a unit of Volkswagen's (VOWG_p.DE) Audi brand, whose sleek cars bear the charging bull logo, sees the luxury super sportscar market returning to the record levels seen in 2007 by 2013-14, Winkelmann said.
Around 35,000 super sports cars were sold in 2007, compared with about 26,000 last year, he said.
Strong demand from emerging regions such as China and Russia is boosting sales of high-end models.
Referring to plans for a third model, Winkelmann said: "We are going to have a third model. It has to be an everyday car. We want to have a car which is able to be used on a daily basis."
Lamborghini, which competes with fellow Italian brand Ferrari (FIA.MI), has not yet decided which segment the car will belong to, he said, adding that once that decision was made, the group would need about four years to get the car on the road.


The group does not plan to work with a partner on the new model, Winkelmann said, but he added: "We will use synergies where possible within the (Volkswagen) group."
Founded in 1963 by passionate self-made man Ferruccio Lamborghini, the company was hit hard by the global economic crisis in 2009. It sold 2,430 cars in 2008, its record year.
Winkelmann said Lamborghini could sell around 1,500 cars this year, compared with 1,302 in 2010, although he stressed that this was not a fixed sales target and depended on deliveries of the new 313,000 euro Aventador it will launch in the second half.
Lamborghini also sells the Gallardo, which starts at around 180,000 euros, and stopped making the Murcielago in May last year.
"We will be growing but on a level which for the time being is not so important for us as the fact we are building up a new order bank," Winkelmann said.
The Aventador supercar, which like its predecessors is named after a fighting bull, is already sold out for the first year and a half of production, he added.
Lamborghini should sell over 300 cars in China this year, Winkelmann said at the Reuters Summit, held at the Reuters office in Paris on Monday, about a fifth of its total likely sales for this year.
Last year it sold 206 cars in China, excluding Hong Kong.
Analysts at IHS Automotive see China's premium segment growing to 909,946 units in 2011 and 1.6 million in 2015, compared with 727,227 last year..

By Reuters..
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

In abrupt turnaround, Olympus admits it hid losses

Japan's Olympus admitted on Tuesday it hid losses on securities investments dating back two decades, bowing to weeks of pressure to explain a series of baffling transactions that have put the future of the firm in doubt. The revelations by the 92-year-old company appear to vindicate ex-CEO Michael Woodford, who has staged a campaign since being sacked on October 14 to force the firm to come clean on nearly $1.5 billion in questionable payments. Olympus President Shuichi Takayama blamed Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, who quit as president and chairman on October 26, Vice-President Hisashi Mori and internal auditor Hideo Yamada for the cover-up, saying he would consider criminal complaints against them. The admission after weeks of denials shocked investors, sending shares in the endoscope and camera maker skidding almost 30 percent and prompting the biggest non-Japanese shareholder to demand the replacement of the entire board. "Ignorance is no defense," said Jo...
Post a Comment
Read more

GL SLAMS ‘COLONIAL’ RIGHTS GROUPS

Sri Lanka’s foreign minister Gamini Lakshman Peiris rejected “colonial” criticism Tuesday of a government-appointed civil war probe, after foreign rights groups snubbed an invitation to attend. New York-based Human Rights Watch, London-based Amnesty International and Brussels-based International Crisis Group last week accused the panel of a cover-up and refused an offer from Colombo to appear before it. Peiris said in a speech to the International Institute for Strategic Studies, a leading think-tank based in London, that the rights groups had displayed a “most unattractive attitude.” “It smacks of an attitude that is almost colonial, patronising and condescending, the assumption being that other people must step in because Sri Lankans are unable to chart a course for their own future,” he said. Peiris, who is in London for talks with the British government, said the LLRC was based on similar reconciliation commissions in countries such as South Africa. He urged rights groups and ...
Post a Comment
Read more

IRRESPONSIBLE TALK BY MEMBERS COST UNP ITS VOTERS, SAYS SAJITH

The voters have distanced themselves from the United National Party (UNP) because several members had demeaned the military victories during the recently concluded war against the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, said Hambantota District parliamentarian Sajith Premadasa. Former President Ranasinghe Premadasa’s son, Sajith was addressing a meeting at Gurutalawa at the Yatinuwara electorate in Kandy last evening to raise awareness on his Jathika Jeewaya Programme. Mr. Premadasa launched this programme within three electorates in the Gampaha District last week as well. Adding further, Sajith Pramadasa said the UNP suffered erosion in its support as some had uttered irresponsible comments when the Sri Lankan armed forces were gaining victory after victory in the fight against the LTTE. When the Army captured Thoppigala, some in the UNP had said that Thoppigala was only a jungle, while some had accused the then government and the military of claiming to be advancing towards Kilinochc...
Post a Comment
Read more