Lamborghini says it doesn’t need an EV until at least 2030.
Ferrari’s controversial Luce debut appears to be influencing rivals.
Lamborghini will keep combustion engines alive with hybrids for now.
Ferrari’s controversial Luce debut got plenty of attention, though perhaps not the kind Maranello was hoping for. Rather than have cross-town rival Lamborghini feeling like it’s behind the times, it appears as though the brand’s CEO is even more content now that the Lanzador didn’t remain on schedule for an earlier debut. He’s openly doubling down on the idea that Lamborghini was right to delay the brand’s first EV.
In a round table with journalists, asked about the reaction to the Luce, Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann said his company made the “right decision” in postponing its first fully electric car, arguing that customer demand for electric supercars simply hasn’t materialized the way much of the industry assumed it would.
According to Handelsblatt, Winkelmann said Lamborghini has spent years monitoring demand in the luxury segment. To no one’s surprise who’s been paying attention, the company found that acceptance of electric vehicles hasn’t climbed at anything close to the pace many had forecast.
The automaker had planned to launch the all-electric Lanzador before the end of the decade. Initially, production was simply delayed. Now, it won’t happen until at least 2030, if not later, because acceptance for EVs within the brand’s target demographic was “close to zero.” For now, Lamborghini has scrapped it and is looking at a new hybrid model to join the lineup in the near future.
Importantly, European regulations currently call for a ban on the sale of new combustion-powered vehicles beginning in 2035, although exemptions for e-fuels and certain low-volume manufacturers remain under discussion. While many exotic-car makers spent the last several years announcing ambitious EV programs, Lamborghini now appears content to let others test the waters first.
That’s probably a wise move considering its positioning. While nowhere near as successful as Ferrari, Lamborghini has its position underneath Volkswagen Group going for it. It’s currently one of the most profitable divisions. In 2025, it generated €3.2 billion ($3.7 billion) in revenue. Even though operating profit slipped from €835 million ($970 million) to €768 million ($892 million), the company still posted a remarkable 24 percent operating margin.
Last year, the appetite for electric school buses waned. The reason had a lot to do with President Donald Trump retaking the Oval Office and signing numerous executive orders that changed course on the drive toward zero emissions.
The Clean School Bus Program was shelved until recently, with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency expected at press time to finally announced it would make good on awarding the final $2.5 billion remaining in the five-year $5 million program. Seemingly it comes the official re-emergence of diesel, which had been obvious across all sectors.
Diesel is 90 percent cleaner than it was two decades ago and, while it still emits harmful particulate matter especially for children’s developing lungs, it remains the fuel type of choice for many fleets due to its workhorse and longevity characteristics. That makes federal subsidies for drop-in biodiesel blends, which many school districts have been using for decades, and renewable diesel especially attractive.
Granted, maintaining diesel systems has become more arduous and expensive. And those costs extend to the fuel pump.
Petroleum prices were already volatile, then the Iran war broke out. The Strait of Hormuz closed, and the price of oil soared well past $100 a barrel. Diesel and gasoline prices followed suit globally. Despite the U.S. opening domestic oil reserves, those prices have stayed high, and there is no end in sight. This has spelled doom for school districts and school bus operators.
The National Association for Pupil Transportation and AASA: The Superintendents Association conducted a survey last month that illustrates the impacts. Of the 188 school districts responding, 22 percent said their diesel fuel costs increased by 11- to 20 percent over their current school year budget. Another 20 percent said they
are 6- to 10 percent over budget.
Scott Lee, the director of transportation for Washoe County School District in Nevada, said diesel costs increased a whopping 89 percent from January of this year to May, rising from $3.01 per gallon to $5.69 per gallon. The Reno-area school district, however, seemingly has it better than a lot of states in terms of actual prices being paid. Outside of Portland, Oregon, the Beaverton School District was paying $6.57 per gallon through April, a 38-percent increase from $4.77 paid last July.
The saving grace for school districts like Beaverton and Washoe is a reliance on electric and propane school buses. Craig Beaver, who retires as director of transportation this summer, said the fleet of electric school buses is closing in on the sweet spot of achieving 1.5 kWh per mile efficiency. In April, the school district’s Type C and Type D electric school buses averaged 1.6 kW per mile, the best mark since last October, when the average was 1.59.
Meanwhile, both he and Washoe County’s Lee are also increasingly relying on propane. Lee shared that propane fueling cost remains relatively flat with an increase of 4 percent for fiscal year 2027, at which point the district also is purchasing another six propane school buses for the 2026-2027 school year.
Beaver said he kept the budget the same for the coming school year, as more electric and propane school buses will be on the road at a cheaper cost. This, he added, will hopefully offset the increase in diesel cost per gallon over the course of the year.
“It’s a good plan, as long as the Strait of Hormuz opens up in the next month or two. We will have minimal diesel usage this summer as well,” he shared. “Only use those buses for long trips. Everything else will be EV supplemented by propane.”
Beaverton’s long-term plan includes transitioning all 140 Type D school buses in the fleet to propane over the next five to eight years, once Blue Bird comes to market with an option.
The writing on the wall, no matter the politics at play, is the TCO of both electric and propane pencil out. Despite higher upfront costs, both options are often surpassing diesel in terms of lifetime fuel and maintenance csts. That story was also told at ACT Expo last month, in the 2026 State of Sustainable Fuels report.
With the Clean School Bus Program relaunching and no matter the assumed new funding mechanism for biodiesel and renewal diesel, millions if not billions of dollars will be spent in the coming years to add more electric and propane school buses to the national fleet.
And that is welcome news in a world where fuel volatility and higher new vehicle purchase prices will continue.
Editor’s Note: As reprinted from the June 2026 issue of School Transportation News.
Summer break is upon us but student transporters are already ramping up for the new school year amid financial challenges. Plus, the June issue of School Transportation News magazine is out, and a camera caught a scary illegal passing incident that injured a student in Florida.
Ryan Hahn, owner of Strategic School Consultants and a former transportation director, sheds light on current school district financial hardships, creative and collaborative operational strategies, and his upcoming sessions on the topic at STN EXPO West this July.
Anthony Jackson of Bibb County School District in Georgia basks in the glory of reduced fuel costs by relying on propane. Cover design by Kimber Horne Photo by Blue Bird
Buying a new school bus fuel or energy type is no small decision for student transportation operators. Dive into this month’s issue to learn more about what factors are involved in clean fuel purchasing decisions, how to implement the kind of technology that school bus drivers actually want and need, understanding how to convert data into actionable insights and how to plan the perfect technology rollout.
Also find the latest conference news, including a recap of ACT Expo and a preview of the upcoming STN EXPO West conference, this July in Reno, Nevada.
How Clean is Clean Enough?
Experts say it’s important to all weigh all factors when purchasing a new school bus fuel or energy type.
Features
Full Potential
Implementing technology solutions that drivers want and know how to use could be the secret sauce to keeping them behind the wheel.
Tackling the Data Challenge
The promise of compiled data is most beneficial when transportation leaders understand what the information means to their operations.
We analyze what 188 school districts shared in a survey about fuel prices, the impact of world events and the upcoming Clean School Bus Program, timely discussion planned for STN EXPO West in July, and a California school bus driver recognized by the state.
With 10 years’ experience in the industry, Griffin Scott, supervisor of fleet advisory and analytics at RTA: The Fleet Success Company, discusses technology and AI trends, fleet management solutions, the impact of bell times, electrification developments and more.
Gas prices jumped 46 percent in four months, hitting traditional vehicles the hardest.
EV annual energy costs barely moved while gas vehicles saw a $706 average increase.
Large SUVs, trucks, and minivans got hammered, with some owners facing $1,600+ jumps.
Gas prices have a way of fading into the background when they’re stable. Then they spike, and suddenly every fill-up feels like a minor financial crisis. Drivers of thirsty trucks and body-on-frame SUVs know the feeling all too well. A new study suggests 2026 has turned into one of those years where fuel costs go from annoyance to budget item almost overnight.
According to a new study from iSeeCars, gasoline prices climbed nearly 46 percent between January and April, moving from $2.81 to $4.10 per gallon. The picture has only worsened since. At the time of publishing on May 24, the national average sits at $4.52 for regular, $5.01 for mid-grade, $5.39 for premium, and $5.62 for diesel.
Even working from the smaller January-to-April window the study covers, the math is ugly: an average annual fuel-cost increase of $706 for traditional gas-powered vehicles. EV drivers, meanwhile, barely felt it, with annual charging costs up just $11.
Fuel Cost Increase By Drivetrain: Jan vs. Apr 2026
Drivetrain
Avg. Miles Per Year
Annual Fuel Cost Jan-26
Annual Fuel Cost Apr-26
Diff.
ICE
13,323
$1,533
$2,240
$706
Hybrid
14,696
$1,055
$1,540
$486
PHEV
11,660
$1,385
$1,676
$291
EV
11,880
$714
$725
$11
SWIPE
iSeeCars
The data comes from an analysis of more than 2.1 million three-year-old used vehicles sold in 2025. Researchers looked at average annual mileage and paired it with fuel costs in January and April to estimate how much ownership costs changed in just four months.
The hit landed unevenly across powertrains. Internal-combustion vehicles were hit the hardest, jumping from $1,533 to $2,240 in annual fuel costs. Hybrids took a smaller hit, rising $486. Plug-in hybrids landed in the middle with a $291 increase. EVs barely moved at all, increasing from $714 to $725 annually, and that’s even more impressive when you consider that the study didn’t just sample drivers who can charge at home.
Fuel Cost Increase for Major Gas Vehicle Segments: Jan vs. Apr 2026
Segment
Avg. Miles Per Year
Annual Fuel Cost Jan-26
Annual Fuel Cost Apr-26
Diff.
Minivans
19,292
$2,472
$3,610
$1,139
Trucks
14,369
$2,154
$3,146
$992
SUVs
12,731
$1,479
$2,161
$681
Passenger Cars
13,714
$1,316
$1,922
$606
SWIPE
iSeeCars
Here’s the kicker. Efficiency alone wasn’t the whole story. Mileage played a huge role, too. Minivans, surprisingly, took the biggest hit of any segment. Annual fuel costs rose by $1,139, climbing to $3,610. Of course, a big piece of that is how much most minivans (save for the VW ID.Buzz) are built for lots of miles. Trucks with their comical fuel economy and brick-like drag coefficient weren’t far behind with a $992 jump.
SUV owners were almost karmically hit the hardest, with the Toyota Sequoia topping the charts at an average $1,623 increase. The Chevrolet Suburban came in second with $1,542, and the top three rounded out with the Nissan Armada at $1,513. Zoom out, and this may explain why hybrids continue gaining traction. They avoid the range anxiety and charging headaches some buyers still worry about, while taking a lot of the sting out of gas-price roulette.
Top 10 Vehicles With the Biggest Fuel Cost Increases
Fuel options at a Sioux Falls, South Dakota, gas station on Aug. 22, 2025. The nationwide average price of a gallon of gas was $4.55 May 22, 2026, up from $3.20 a year ago. The steep increase has turned some lawmakers' attention alternative fuels like ethanol. (Photo by John Hult/South Dakota Searchlight)
Proponents of ethanol, including lawmakers from corn-growing states, say year-round sales of a gasoline blend containing 15% of the biofuel would give consumers a less expensive alternative to fill their gas tanks, boost energy supplies and benefit agricultural interests.
So why hasn’t Congress allowed it?
There’s credible skepticism about those claims — and opposition from the strange bedfellows of environmental advocates and lawmakers from states where oil production and refining are major industries. As a result, expanding the availability of E15, as the blend is called, has become a congressional brawl with no predictable result.
The outcome of this debate, which will continue in June when Congress returns from its Memorial Day recess, largely depends on whether the push for year-round E15 use can get 60 U.S. Senate votes after the U.S. House this month passed legislation allowing it and the White House has signaled its support.
“I don’t know if it can get 60, to be honest with you,” Senate Environment and Public Works Committee Chair Shelley Moore Capito, a Republican from West Virginia, said in an interview.
Senate Majority Leader John Thune offered some hope.
“We’re looking at ways to move it,” he told reporters. “We have people here who represent states that also have refineries, and that’s a factor in this conversation.”
Iran war boosts support
Federal regulations have restricted E15 from being sold from June 1 to Sept. 15 because of its effects on air quality.
But the turmoil triggered by the war in Iran has been an important boost to Congress’ efforts to pass year-round E15 legislation.
AAA reported that the national average for a gallon of regular gasoline cost $4.55 a gallon Friday, up from $3.20 a year earlier.
The Environmental Protection Agency issued waivers this year to allow extended sales of the blend. E15, often sold at gas stations as Unleaded 88, will be widely available this summer as “the result of ongoing issues in the Middle East, among other events,” EPA said in a statement.
‘Unique agreement’
One’s view of the issue “depends on which study you look at,” Senate Agriculture Chairman John Boozman, an Arkansas Republican, said in an interview.
On one side is a historically influential coalition of agricultural, retail and petroleum interests.
“This legislation reflects a unique area of agreement across the fuel and agriculture supply chain,” organizations representing those industries said in a May 11 letter.
“While our industries do not always see eye to eye, we are united in the belief that these policy reforms provide needed certainty, preserve consumer choice, and support agriculture and energy economies alike,” they said.
The Renewable Fuels Association says E15 has been “fully approved for use in cars, pickups, vans and other light-duty vehicles” made after 2000.
Consumers can save 10 to 30 cents a gallon compared to 87-octane regular gasoline, industry members say. In Pennsylvania last weekend, Unleaded 88 was in some cases selling for 50 cents a gallon less.
The E15 critics
Many environmental groups maintain production of ethanol costs more than regular gasoline, and those costs are passed on to consumers not only at the pump, but in various agricultural products.
“Expanding ethanol sales is a shortsighted approach that ignores the environmental costs of industrial agriculture,” said Patrick Drupp, Sierra Club’s director of climate policy.
He said much of the corn used to produce E15 is grown in Midwestern states “already facing severe aquifer depletion and water shortages, and expanding ethanol production would only intensify the strain on their water supplies, farmland, and ecosystems.”
Eight environmental groups wrote an open letter May 8, concerned that “We should not commit additional land, resources, or taxpayer dollars to policies that undermine our climate goals, strain our natural systems, and increase costs for American families.”
The groups, which include the World Resources Institute and the Sierra Club, countered the notion that consumers would benefit.
“Production expenses for corn ethanol typically exceed those of gasoline, except during periods of unusually high oil prices—and even then, ethanol prices tend to rise in tandem with global energy markets,” they said.
That would mean even higher prices not only for fuel but for food, the organizations wrote.
One analysis that takes neither side is the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office, which said in a May 12 analysis that because E15 needs separate or specialized tanks and pumps, “retailers wanting to sell E15 would confront the additional expense of installing new equipment.”
And, it said, “some refiners will incur additional costs as they adjust their refinery processes to produce the appropriate gasoline to be blended into E15.”
What will Congress do?
The congressional coalitions for and against year-round E15 are as unusual as the outside groups supporting and opposing it.
The House’s 218-203 vote on May 13 saw 122 Republicans, 95 Democrats and one independent voting yes, while 113 Republicans and 90 Democrats voted no.
The yes coalition largely united rural lawmakers with more urban members who see the change as helping consumers.
“This debate is about much more than fuel,” Rep. Mariannette Miller-Meeks, an Iowa Republican, said. “Agriculture is hurting right now,”
Joining her was New Jersey’s Rep. Frank Pallone, the top Democrat on the House Energy and Commerce Committee.
The bill “lowers prices for American drivers, supports farmers, and fosters investment in cleaner transportation fuel,” he said.
On the other side was Rep. Chip Roy, R-Texas.
“If we need to do something to support farmers, let’s have a direct conversation about it. Expanding E15 is just the wrong direction to go,” he said.
The same sort of party split looms in the Senate.
After the House vote, Sen. Deb Fischer, R-Neb., who’s fought for the change for years, hailed the approval as “a major step toward securing stability and certainty for American producers and consumers – without any government mandates.”
Thune, of South Dakota, has been sympathetic to year-round E15.
At a news conference this week he called E15 “a way of creating additional demand for agricultural commodities in this country and creating additional supply when it comes to fuels.
“And when that happens, at least in my part of the country, that means that when you buy ethanol at the pump, it’s significantly lower in price,” he said.
“Congress is currently discussing new mandates – mandates that would force more and more ethanol into our fuels,” he said in a Senate floor speech the day after the House vote.
“I oppose the year-round E15 mandate,” he said. “I oppose it because it hurts small oil refineries and all of the people who work at them.”
Small refineries
There are about 30 small refineries across the country, usually in inland areas, and about half could face problems under the House bill.
Small refineries are those that produce less than 75,000 barrels of oil per day, compared to 300,000 barrels or more at larger facilities.
The small refineries can petition for an EPA exemption from the annual renewable fuel obligations based on “disproportionate economic hardship.”
For 2025, there were 33 exemption petitions filed. Approximately 17 of those facilities would be ineligible under the proposed legislation because they are owned by companies with more than one refinery. Instead of focusing on the single facility, the bill requires aggregation of all facilities together.
The House bill would allow a 75% exemption instead of the current full exemption. It could also reduce the number of small refineries currently eligible for an exemption by half.
Most small refineries would find themselves operationally constrained without the ability to receive exemptions, as they would have to use much of their cash flow to comply with the annual mandates, said Peter Whitfield, partner at Sidley Austin, a law firm that represents the Small Refineries of America, in an interview
Many senators want assurances small refineries won’t be hurt.
“I’m interested in the small refinery piece,” Capito said.
That concern is yet another reason, at the moment, Capito said she is doubtful the House bill could get the 60 votes needed in the Senate.
We discuss fuel cost anxiety and the impact of a proposed federal fuel tax suspension, plus safety lessons to learn from the latest student pedestrian fatality in New York City.
What should you consider before buying a bus? Isaac Linson, CEO of BusesForSale.com, joins us to discuss current school bus market trends and tips for buying or selling buses remotely.
Electric vehicle sales in Europe jumped by 51% in March.
High fuel prices, new govt incentives are driving the switch.
US EV picture is very different, sales dropping 27% in Q1.
Europe’s EV market is having a moment, and it’s in large part thanks to a man who’s no fan of clean energy. President Trump’s attack on Iran sent petrol and diesel prices soaring – and European drivers into the arms of electric cars.
New figures show battery-electric registrations surged 51 percent in March 2026 across 15 key EU + EFTA (European Free Trade Association) markets as drivers in the region battled with fuel costs that jumped by around a fifth.
More than 224,000 electric passenger cars were registered in March alone as a result, accounting for 22 percent of all new-car sales. That means close to one in every four cars sold was an EV. Over the first quarter, more than half a million EVs were sold across the EU, up 33.5 percent year over year.
Growth was broad, too. Germany rose 42 percent year to date, helped by new state incentives and France stayed strong with a 28 percent EV share in March. Italy, long considered a reluctant adopter, jumped 65 percent. Even Poland cracked the 40 percent growth club.
Scandis Embraced EVs
Then there’s the Nordics, where normal rules don’t apply. Denmark saw fully electric cars account for 76.6 percent of March registrations. Finland was near 50 percent. Norway, naturally, continued behaving like it’s already living in 2035, with 98.4 percent of new registrations fully electric.
Now let’s cross the Atlantic, where the mood is rather different, despite pump prices also rising there. Though CarEdge reported internet searches for EVs jumped 20 percent in the first week following the original attack on Iran in early March, US EV sales in the first quarter fell 27 percent compared with the same period last year.
Tax Credit Hole
Only 216,399 EVs were sold in America between January and the end of March, that slide heavily influenced by the removal of the federal $7,500 tax credit last September, which appears to have yanked plenty of buyers back toward gasoline pumps.
Some brands still found success. Toyota rose 79 percent, Lexus jumped 207 percent, and Rivian edged upward by 21 percent. But others were hammered, with several mainstream and premium names like Audi, BMW, Mercedes, Porsche, Ford, VW, Jeep and Genesis posting dramatic declines as high as 93 percent.
Hamilton Southeastern Schools district leaders in Indianapolis prioritize a drive toward a cleaner, more sustainable future.
That commitment was recognized earlier this month when the district was named 2026 School Bus Fleet of the Year by Drive Clean Indiana, the state’s clean cities coalition, recognized by the U.S. Department of Energy, during the organization’s annual Breakfast of Champions in Indianapolis.
The March 16 recognition occurred alongside Work Truck Week, where industry stakeholders gathered to celebrate advancements in clean transportation. The Breakfast of Champions featured a keynote address by four-time Indianapolis 500 winner Helio Castroneves, underscoring the broader connection between performance, innovation and energy.
Zach McKinney stands next to a Hamilton Southeastern Schools bus.
McKinney previously told STN the electric transition has been a good experience, and now he and his staff have the knowledge needed to provide feedback to others. However, he added it’s hard for the district to subsidize the cost financially without the aid of grants.
“It’s not obtainable by most school districts,” he said last June, adding that he’s not going to sacrifice the purchasing two and half diesel buses for the same money it takes to buy one electric bus.
However, McKinney shared with STN last week that Hamilton Southeastern was awarded funding for nine more electric school buses.
We examine the impact of the war in Iran and Clean School Bus program updates on district fuel choices, as well as a Pennsylvania school bus driver arrested after driving over 50 students while intoxicated.
We are joined by Nate Springer, vice president of market development at TRC Companies, the presenter of the upcoming Advanced Clean Transportation (ACT) EXPO. He unpacks the reasoning behind various fuel choices available to school districts today and funding options amid changes to the Clean School Bus program.
Current methods used to process hydrogen into a usable fuel are cost-prohibitive, but several new innovations are promising to open the door to cost-competitive green hydrogen. Hydrogen is well positioned to be the fuel of the future. However, a commercially viable transition to green hydrogen – the environmentally friendly version of the fuel – seems …
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