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Lamborghini CEO on strong 2020 sales, 2021 plans, and adapting the brand

Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian spoke to Lamborghini President & CEO Stephan Winkelmann on the Italian automaker's suprisingly good 2020, strong start to 2021, and how the brand needs to adapt for the future ahead.

Video transcript

JARED BLIKRE: Time now to talk cars. And for that we're going to bring in Yahoo Finance's Pras Subramanian. And I've got to tell you, Pras, this is a great news day, because we got Lambos and Bitcoin in the news. But you sat down with the Lamborghini CEO. Tell me about that.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Yeah, Jared. Lamborghinis and crypto, right? But anyway, Lamborghini had a surprisingly good 2020. And I spoke to CEO Stephan Winkelmann about that. But you know, it's funny enough, it was actually his second stint with the automaker. He actually rejoined the company in the middle of the pandemic. So I asked him about that and what had changed at the company since he returned. Here's what he had to say.

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STEPHAN WINKELMANN: We have more people. The size of the company changed, because now we have a third model with Urus, which is a huge success. But the spirit and the way of thinking, the emotional side, and the commitment of the people is exactly the same as I left them in 2016. So I'm very happy and proud to be back.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: You know, talking about 2020 and talking about your people, it was a really rough year for the pandemic, a factory shut down, but still a decent year nonetheless. How did the company persevere through that?

STEPHAN WINKELMANN: So we had the best year ever in terms of financials. And I have to say that on the other side, we had the second best year in terms of deliveries to customers. And this despite the fact that we had a shutdown of two months of the factory due to the pandemic, but also because our suppliers worldwide had a shutdown, and also, our dealers. So the entire network was down. And despite this, we have this incredible result.

And even better than this, at the end of the year 2020, we started, in the year '21, with an order bank, so presold cars, let's say, of nine months covering the year 2021. And now after the first quarter, I can still say that this is better, that we still have nine months of solid order bank for the year 2021.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: So off to a good start here. And I want to talk about one of those cars that really made 2020 big, which is the Urus, you know. Where do you think Lamborghini would be without the success of this ultra SUV? Why are clients so keen on it?

STEPHAN WINKELMANN: It's a game changer, the Urus, for us, because it more than doubled the volumes. It is playing in a different segment. It's a super sport SUV. So it's a car with four doors, five seats. It's very easy to drive. It's for everyone. And this was for sure then the first choice for a lot of couples, families, so the first car in the garage they use on a daily basis. So this helped us a lot. And this is also the prerequisite of being successful and to be able to reinvest in the future of our super sports cars, like the Aventador and the Huracan. So all in all, it's not only good for the time being, but also looking into the future, it's a very positive outlook due to the Urus also.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: So with the 2021 order book looking pretty good this year, new car out this year, the Huracan STO car, I'm looking forward to seeing actually. So tell me more about that.

STEPHAN WINKELMANN: The STO, it's the pinnacle of the Huracan, because it's the car where there's a rear wheel drive car. It's a guy which is a street legal car, but has the DNA of a race car. So this combination is something which is making the car incredibly fast on every race track in this world. And we have an incredible result. You have to see that this car is not even really out in the market. And we have a difficult time to show it to the press, to show it to our customers. So we are doing-- we did webinars. We are doing, let's say, regional preselling activities, test drives all around the world, but from a very distant, let's say, way of acting from here for sometime, because we cannot travel. And despite all of this, the car so far was incredibly well received. And let's say, we will deliver the first cars already in the first half of this year. So from June onwards, they will hit the market.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: So you talk about fast cars and high performance. I've got to mention electrification and hybrids. You know, without going into specifics, I know you can't really do that, how important are these technologies for Lamborghini? And then, are they the future?

STEPHAN WINKELMANN: The legislator is telling us what he wants. And not only to mass market and premium, but also to luxury and super sports cars. And we have to adapt without jeopardizing our DNA. In other words, we have to change everything to continue to be the same as before. This is something which is-- how we are going to do it we will disclose pretty soon. Give me some weeks from now, because we are still working on it, and we will come back to.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: You know, lots of talk also about spinning off the Lamborghini brand from the Volkswagen group. Do you see that in the future? And would you welcome that kind of independence?

STEPHAN WINKELMANN: I'm the wrong one to ask. I think the value of this company has increased dramatically. But I think that the Volkswagen group is a good mother, and we are benefiting in every sense from being part of this fantastic group. And I see a brilliant future for us inside the group.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Lastly, Stephan, I have to ask, what are you most excited about for the future of Lamborghini, whether it's this year or a couple years from now?

STEPHAN WINKELMANN: It's always about the things which are coming into the market next. Because let's say, I am committed with the entire team to bring this brand into our new roles starting in the next years to, let's say, be the real game changer also in terms of super sports cars when the electrification is starting to kick in.

PRAS SUBRAMANIAN: Stephan Winkelmann, so glad you could take the time to join us. Really excited here in the States to hear more about Lamborghini. Because it is a huge market for you guys. So thanks again.

STEPHAN WINKELMANN: It's the biggest, yes. And thank you, and I hope to come to visit you soon.