Lamborghini sees ‘huge’ mkt with rising number of HNIs
NEW DELHI: Italian supersports luxury carmaker Automobili Lamborghini sees a “huge opportunity” of growth in India with rising number of ultra high networth individuals driving demand in the country, said its chairman and chief executive officer Stephan Winkelmann.
The company, which posted a record sales of 69 cars, a growth of 86%, in 2021 in the country, is also evaluating plans to introduce hybrid vehicles in India as part of a global strategy towards electrification.
“I think in India there’s a huge opportunity for growth, because there’s a big wealth around the Indian market, and we will see how this is developing. We had one of the highest growth in terms of percentage last year, so there are opportunities also for the future. What we can see in the Indian market is that we have more and more ultra high networth individuals entering the market... We already have the second generation of ultra high networth individuals and their average age is younger than other countries,” Winkelmann said.
Given the results of last year and the demographic situation of the Indian market, both in terms of young wealthy people and wealth in general, Winkelmann said, “We think that there is a growing demand also in the Indian market in years to come.” Globally, Lamborghini has announced plans for electrification of its vehicles by first going hybrid followed by full electric cars in the second part of the decade.
When asked about the roll-out plans for its hybrid vehicles in India, he said there will be a rollout plan but at the moment “I cannot tell you the exact months we are going to be present in each and every market. This is not only valid for India, but is a general issue we are evaluating”.
On the Indian government policy favouring full electric vehicles and not hybrids, Winkelmann said, “We have other markets where it’s easier to have, let’s say, in terms of legislation, but we have to find a right balance between what is the task of the government and the demand of our customers.” Also in India, he added, “we think also by looking into the numbers that there is a growing potential for the future, even if we are not turning our line-up into full electric cars right now because we don’t think this is the right time to do it. We don’t think our customers will appreciate at this time going full electric.”