Episode summary
‘We Sell Scarcity:’ How Lamborghini Continues to Stay So Cool | WSJ’s Bold Names
The Journal
· · Hosts: Tim Higgins, Christopher Mims · Guests: Stephan Winkelmann
Summary
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann says the brand’s core strategy is scarcity: the company sells about 10,000 cars a year, keeps a long order book, and treats each vehicle as a dream rather than a utility. He says the typical buyer is getting younger, still mostly male, and often an entrepreneur, CEO, celebrity, or sports star, with a growing share of women and strong demand from Asia and the U.S.
Winkelmann argues that Lamborghini’s post-COVID growth came from renewing the lineup, making every model plug-in hybrid, and leaning into “made in Italy” exclusivity. He says the company has not pushed volume into the market, and that customers often visit the Sant’Agata factory and personalize cars there. Even so, he says 2025 has become more difficult because of a softer supercar market, euro-dollar and yen currency pressure, and U.S. tariffs that forced some price increases.
On powertrains, Winkelmann says Lamborghini is not abandoning combustion engines for now. He says hybridization helps lower CO2 while preserving or improving performance, but that demand for fully electric cars has flattened, especially in the luxury segment. He says the next-generation Urus will stay plug-in hybrid, while the company will soon decide whether the Lanzador becomes fully electric or also hybrid.
Key takeaways
- Winkelmann says Lamborghini is “selling scarcity,” with about one-year lead times and roughly 10,000 deliveries a year.
- He says the average customer age is now below 45, and younger buyers are increasingly treating Lamborghinis as investments with strong residual values.
- Winkelmann says the company’s entire lineup is now plug-in hybridized, including the V12 and Urus, to cut emissions without giving up performance.
- He says demand for full-electric luxury cars has flattened, making a plug-in hybrid future more likely for the next Urus and possibly the Lanzador.
- He says U.S. tariffs and currency moves are pressuring margins in 2025, but he expects the market to normalize if the economy steadies.
Notable quotes
“We are selling dreams. So for us, this is the major difference”
“It should be a dream of many and a reality of few”
“There is no period in the history of Lamborghini which is without challenges”
How the episode opens
This week on Bold Names, he's the CEO of Lamborghini, Stefan Vinkkelman. His cars are seemingly everywhere from songs driving Lamborghinis — Hollywood blockbusters. — Will you be wanting a backpini then? — Much more subtle. — Even my kid nephew has a couple toy versions. But in reality, Lamborghini only delivers about 10,000 vehicles a year. So, how does Stefan keep these dream machines so relevant? That's next. Stefan, welcome to the show. I'm curious, who is the typical Lamborghini owner?
I have to say that uh we are getting more and more young people behind uh the steering wheel of a Lamborghini. Now, the average age is below 45. The youngest customers we have uh in Asia followed by the Americans and the oldest are here in Europe.
They are mainly male. We have around about 7 to 8% also female drivers which is very welcome. Most of our customers they love made in Italy.
They love those type of cars. They usually entrepreneurs or CEOs of big companies. But we also have a lot of uh movie stars uh uh artists in general and also sports stars.
So we have a bit of all and and we have a lot of fans uh even without a driver's license.
Absolutely. I I I will say that I was visiting with my six-year-old nephew the other day and he was showing me his Lambo collection. You know, he keeps it next to his Pokemon cards and I felt like that is kind of indicative of of maybe where he's going to go. He's going to get into crypto so he can finally afford a Lamborghini when he hits 16.
But you would know about who these customers are. I mean, you're not only the CEO, but this is your second stint as CEO of Lamborghini.
From the episode’s captions: roughly the first two minutes, lightly cleaned. Keep watching on YouTube →
Topics
- scarcity branding
- luxury car market
- hybrids vs electric
- tariffs and global trade pressures
- post-covid strategy
Companies and tickers mentioned
- Lamborghini
Watch the episode
Watch “‘We Sell Scarcity:’ How Lamborghini Continues to Stay So Cool | WSJ’s Bold Names” on YouTube
Summary, takeaways and quote selection by Octagon. Quotes are short excerpts; the full conversation is in the episode.
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