Lamborghini sees opportunity to enhance growth in Indian market

New Delhi: Italian automaker Automobili Lamborghini sees an opportunity to enhance growth in the Indian market through its hybridisation programme and move towards full electric mobility, according to company Chairman and CEO Stephan Winkelmann.

With the changing geopolitical situation altering global supply chains, the supersports car maker is widening its sourcing base which could be beneficial for the Indian components suppliers.

"I think that the Indian market is able to digest our first step into electrification and hybridisation because a lot of our drives are also very well equipped with self-charging while driving the car. So, this is a positive thing because they are plug-in hybrids, but they are also easy to recharge while driving," Winkelmann said in an interaction.

Further, he said, "This is going to foster our image of performance cars but also that we are serious in our terms of sustainability and we are very credible in the things we are doing. So we see that there is also a further opportunity of growth into the Indian market." Winkelmann was responding to a query on how Lamborghini's hybridisation and electrification programme would impact growth in the Indian market.

Despite India being a high taxation market with infrastructure challenges, he said, "There is an opportunity for further growth. How far and how much I don't know for sure." In 2021, the company had announced it would go through the hybridisation route before launching a fully electric car by the second half of the decade. Under the programme, it will launch its first hybrid model in 2023 and the entire range of existing products will be electrified by the end of 2024.

Last year, the company had posted record sales in India with 92 units growing at 33 per cent from the previous year. Its previous best-ever sales in the country was in 2021 with 69 units. Before that its best sales was in 2019 when it had sold a total of 52 units.

When asked if Lamborghini sees a role for Indian component makers in its supply chain, he said, "When we speak about the supply chain development of the future, (it) is clear that due to the geopolitical situation we are now setting out on acting global, both in terms of sales and in terms of supply chain." He also said, "We are looking globally, we are extending our range because we have in front of us a completely different type of time...For sure India is part of our sourcing process but I cannot tell you right now additional Indian suppliers to come in."