Lamborghini hopes for combustion engine future beyond 2030 – CEO

FRANKFURT (Reuters) – Volkswagen’s supercar brand Lamborghini is looking to keep combustion engine vehicles alive beyond the end of the decade, the unit’s Chief Executive Stephan Winkelmann told a German weekly newspaper.

“After hybridisation, we will wait to see whether it will be possible to offer vehicles with an internal combustion engine beyond 2030,” he told Welt am Sonntag.

“One possibility would be to keep combustion engine vehicles alive via synthetic fuels.”

Winkelmann last month said Lamborghini planned to roll out its first fully electric model at the end of this decade, underscoring a more cautious approach after comments last year that a release was planned for second half of the decade.

Lamborghini, as well as key rivals Ferrari, Aston Martin Lagonda and McLaren, are wrestling with how to shift their ranges to battery power without losing the high performance that supports their premium pricing.

(Reporting by Christoph Steitz; Editing by Mark Potter)