Lamborghini takes cautious stance on e-fuels

SANT’AGATA BOLOGNESE, Italy -- Lamborghini is adopting a cautious stance toward e-fuels, in contrast to its competitors Ferrari and Porsche, who see them as a way to continue to market internal-combustion engine cars in Europe after 2035, when the EU will allow only zero-emission vehicles to be sold.

Stephan Winkelmann, the chairman and CEO of Lamborghini, said despite the EU’s exception for e-fuels, there was no need to change the brand’s product strategy just yet, but he called for more clarity on the regulations.

“We need to know what the regulatory framework will be from 2032 onwards, when the cars that are being launched this year and next will reach the end of their life,” he said at the unveiling of the Revuelto, a1,001-hp plug-in hybrid supercar with a V-12 gasoline engine.

To prepare for the model cycle that starts in 2032, he added, Lamborghini needs a clear picture no later than 2027, given the five-year time frame to develop new products (see sidebar, below).

Lamborghini and other automakers need not just clarity on regulations but uniformity across regions, Winkelmann said. Europe accounts for one third of Lamborghini sales, but America is also moving towards zero emissions, he said, even if it is not yet clear what that means. 

Energy ministers from the EU’s 27 member states formally adopted rules Tuesday that will mean automakers will have to slash CO2 emissions to zero over the next 12 years. After negotiations, Germany received provisions for how certain high-end vehicles such as Ferraris and Porsches may get a future exemption if they run solely on e-fuels.

Porsche, which like Lamborghini is majority-owned by the VW group, has invested in an e-fuel plant in Chile and is actively promoting the technology. Ferrari CEO Benedetto Vigna told a Reuters Newsmaker event on Monday that "[the decision by the EU] is very interesting for us because it allows ICEs to go beyond 2036,".

Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares said Wednesday that e-fuels would not “significantly” change the automaker’s EV strategy, adding that the industry would “have to demonstrate that they are carbon neutral, from the capturing of carbon on one side and the emissions of carbon from the engine on the other.”

Lamborghini’s powerful V-12 models such as the Revuelto could continue after 2035 if they can run on e-fuels. 

But Winkelmann said that e-fuels, which are manufactured using captured carbon dioxide, ideally with sustainable energy sources, raised a number of issues. 

First, he said, a limited supply of e-fuels would be first channeled toward the shipping or aviation industry, as battery-electric power is generally impractical for ships and planes because of weight.

Second, synthetic gasoline might be CO2 neutral in its extraction, but cars running on it still produce emissions, including fine particulates and nitrogen oxides (NOx). To reduce those emissions means that the controversial Euro 7 standards will need to be put in place, he said. 

Automakers have criticized the Euro 7 proposal, which will mean additional investment into internal combustion engines to ensure compliance, as diverting resources from the ultimate goal of full electric cars.

Other issues around e-fuels include potential urban bans on combustion engine cars and societal pressure. In an era of electric vehcles, sports cars running on expensive e-fuels might be met with disfavor by a majority of the population, he said.