We know that a supercar manufacturer must always produce one car less than the market demands. But you are producing at least 1000 fewer… Stephan Winkelmann, Chairman and CEO of Automobili Lamborghini, laughs, accepts the provocation. And indeed he reiterates: “True, many models are all sold out but it must be said that after Covid the market exploded: unspent fortunes have accumulated, all ‘fun’ purchases have stopped. So now our market – which is a niche, it must be remembered – has literally exploded”.
Already the numbers. You have just reeled off record data in the first nine months of 2023, recording historic milestones for the company. For the first time in the history of Lamborghini, turnover exceeds the threshold of 2 billion euros after the first 9 months, with an increase of +5.2% compared to the previous year, while the operating result of 618 million exceeds the the entire fiscal year 2022. The wait for new models is very long and many cars could be resold as semi-used at higher prices than the list price. How do you avoid the Rolex effect?
“The numbers speak clearly: we sell less than 10 thousand cars per car, in Italy 450 units, we have 182 dealers around the world who know their customers one by one and this protects us from resellers or from those who want to do speculations. Of course, there’s always someone who manages to screw us over on the spot, it’s impossible to avoid completely, we’d be stupid not to think so, but it rarely happens. Then once a customer has purchased a car it doesn’t end there, the involvement is constant. We invite them to the factory, we organize traveling tours, we closely link our world to the dealers”.
But doesn’t the – terrible – international situation affect this market?
“It’s almost incredible: absolutely not. It is a situation that we cannot understand either: wars, inflation, the geopolitical situation are not negatively influencing our market. Nothing like this has ever been seen. There are luxury brands that are suffering, it’s true, but we have very controlled growth.”
Sorry but how do you ‘check’? Here it seems that the fever is at 40…
“We ask the kids how long a car sits, we measure how many days it takes to be delivered to the customer, how long the used car stays in the dealership, we evaluate its value”.
And for those who do the same speculation? Do you have blacklists?
“No – he laughs – we don’t have blacklists, it can’t be done, but each dealer makes his own choices. When we have to give a special car to someone with the dealers we look for equally special customers. Every Lamborghini owner has his own story behind it: how many cars he has, how much he keeps them, all in transparency.”
Have you ever thought that in some cases you could almost double the price with such long waiting lists?
“Yes, it’s true that there are no discounts, that used goods are worth more than new ones but our dealers already earn very well this way. And then we have to offer vehicles on the market at competitive prices, we always find a balance between the sustainability of the business”.
There could also be a crisis in the sector. Or not? Sooner or later…
“There will be a cooling in demand, of course, it cannot remain at these rates. And we need to understand how to react. We are in a generational change for cars too. When there is a new product, demand is unleashed. Then it settles down. And here we must be careful not to put too much stress on the production and supplier chains. You have to tread carefully. Ending up in production overcapacity on a global level would be terrible.”
From a personal point of view, what do you like most about this success?
“Seeing employees who are happy to work with us and are proud to be part of our team: every day there is a lot to do, every day we have to work hard, safeguard the brand and our employees. And then demonstrate that we are linked to the social trend of the area. For me this is the most important thing.”
Let’s go back to the boom in requests: in this situation, when will electricity arrive, will it be easier for you?
“Yes but it won’t be a very different Lamborghini from today’s. The promise we make is that it will be a car that will excite. We remain in the classic strategy: to make many dream, even if few can afford one of our cars. There should never be envy in front of a Lamborghini on the part of those who don’t have that car: it’s a dream, and we must continue to build dreams. For everyone”.
#Dreams #sales #records #love #territory #electric #Winkelmannthought #FormulaPassion.it