On Tuesday, Italian sports car maker Lamborghini unveiled a $1.8 billion) electrification plan for its luxury vehicles, joining a global push away from fossil fuels at the risk of upsetting fans.
The company, which is owned by Volkswagen subsidiary Audi, said its first hybrid series production car would hit the market in 2023, with all its models “electrified” by the end of 2024.
But a battery-only model won’t be released until the second half of the decade, Lamborghini said.
The plan is “necessary in a context of a radically changing world,” CEO Stephan Winkelmann said in a statement.
“We want to make our contribution by continuing to reduce environmental impact,” he added, saying the investment ploughed into electrification is the company’s largest ever.
By 2025, the company should reduce carbon emissions by half, it said.
The global trend towards electrification has been more challenging for the makers of the fastest sports cars than for mass-market producers.
Some have speculated that the brands’ fans may reject the different torque and driving experience of an electric vehicle compared to traditional combustion engines.
