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.

Read: EV Plans Wait As Lamborghini Expands V8 And V12 Lineup

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.

Ferrari unveiled the fully electric Luce on Monday and the industry has been abuzz with what a huge disappointment it is. The quad-motor, four-door blob somehow manages to look modern, generic, and outdated all at the same time.

While the company isn’t exactly a stranger to questionable designs, the hate for the Luce has been intense and isn’t entirely due to it being electric. The brand has defended the car, but Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann couldn’t resist lightly dunking on it.

More: The New Luce Is So Ugly Not Even The Chinese Will Copy It, Says Ferrari’s Ex-CEO

Speaking to CNBC, Winkelmann implied the backlash to the Luce proved they made the right called in killing the Lanzador. As he explained, axing the EV was “the right way to go,” but “every brand, every company has to decide for themselves.”

As you may recall, Lamborghini introduced the Lanzador concept in 2023 and it was designed to preview an upcoming production model due in 2028. However, the automaker decided to kill the vehicle earlier this year as clients’ interest in electric variants was “close to zero.”

Besides killing the Lanzador, the company decided to abandon plans to turn the Urus into an electric crossover. As a result, the second-generation model will be offered as a plug-in hybrid and it’s expected to arrive around 2029.

While Winkelmann was careful not to talk about Ferrari or the Luce directly, he noted “innovation is paramount” but can’t be forced on customers. He went on to credit Lamborghini for being smart, watching the market, and seeing that acceptance of EVs among its customers was not increasing as time went on.

This caused them to make hard decisions and abandon EVs for plug-in hybrids. Lamborghini is far from the only company to do this as Ford and Honda have killed an assortment of EVs, while others have delayed plans to go electric-only.