Lamborghini CEO wants women to feel the need for speed

• Lamborghini reported record-high sales of 10,687 cars and $3.4 billion in revenues in 2024.
• CEO Stephan Winkelmann puts Lambo's strength in a down luxury auto market to its new hybrid models.
• The CEO said the brand can sustain success by tapping into new demographics and the EV market.

Even as some luxury automakers like Bentley and Mercedes-Benz face sales slumps, Lamborghini has seen explosive growth and is working to target a key new demographic, its CEO told Business Insider.

The Audi-owned brand had a banner year in 2024, with $910 million (835 million euros) in profits, up 15.5% over the previous year, on a record-high revenue of $3.4 billion (3.09 billion euros)

CEO Stephan Winkelmann attributes much of that success to investments in hybrid tech and the revamp of its entire lineup over the past 18 months.

"We have all plug-in hybrids at Lamborghini, all three cars, and this is something which is paramount to the success of the brand," he said in an interview with Business Insider.

But with the luxury auto market struggling, how much more can the Italian supercar maker grow, and where will it find its next generation of customers?

Balancing growth without diluting exclusivity

Lamborghini sold a record-high 10,687 cars worldwide last year, more than triple the number it sold in 2015.

Despite those successes, Winkelmann is quick to offer a reminder that there's plenty of room to grow as Lamborghini's sales are but a drop in the bucket compared to the 80 million cars sold worldwide yearly.

"In certain cities in the world we have a higher density of our cars. On the other hand, we have more and more high net-worth individuals worldwide, so there is an opportunity to increase volumes without losing exclusivity," Winkelmann said.

The company's recent successes have been driven by the popularity of its Urus SUV and the discontinued Huracan supercar, which will be replaced this year by the new Temerario. Last year, these two models accounted for 87% of the brand's sales.

According to Winkelmann, further growth from the brand's current three-model lineup, topped by its flagship Revulto supercar, will be incremental rather than the massive leaps it made in recent years.

"We're not looking for doubling the volumes from 10,000 to 20,000. This is not the next big step we want to have," the Lamborghini CEO explained.

Instead, the company believes its next surge in sales will come from an upcoming fourth model in its lineup, expected to be a 1,300 horsepower EV called the Lanzador in 2029.

"We need to have car number four for additional growth because this car will be in a different sub-segment than the ones we are in today. So it's an add-on and not something that will cannibalize sales from the ones we have today," Winkelmann said.

Where Lamborghini will find more customers

The average Lamborghini customer is in their mid-40s, owns 12 cars, and makes their living in every line of work imaginable. They're overwhelmingly male.

Women make up just 5% to 6% of the brand's current customer base, but they may be a rich vein of prospective Lamborghini buyers for the company to tap into.

And some markets have already found success in doing so.

"I was in Korea last week and they are already at a 50% share of women," Winkelmann said. " So it's the beginning of the right path."

Geographically, the US is Lamborghini's largest and most important market, followed by key markets in Europe, East Asia, and the Middle East.

And the company expects this to remain the case moving forward.

"There are no big surprises coming," Winkelmann said.

However, the Lamborghini CEO notes that India has long shown an untapped potential to be one of the brand's biggest markets.

"I do not see any other market, except India, which has the promise to grow dramatically in terms of size like the [key markets I've mentioned]," he said.