GENEVA — The reason Lamborghini's global sales soared 51 percent to 5,750 units in 2018 can be summed up in one word: Urus.
The exotic brand's long-awaited entry into the SUV segment went on sale in July and quickly contributed 1,761 sales globally last year, around 500 of them in the U.S. alone.
Foschini: U.S. remains key
Federico Foschini, Automobili Lamborghini's chief commercial officer, predicts the number will jump significantly again this year.
"This year we're planning to go to between 7,000 and 8,000," Foschini said of the company's total sales outlook, speaking to Automotive News at the Geneva auto show this month. "Because this year we'll have the full year of production of Urus. We'll be at full capacity."
Lamborghini currently has a worldwide Urus order bank representing 10 to 12 months of factory production, Foschini said.
"We don't want to flood the market, because we are still in a luxury segment and we need to keep control of the offer compared to the demand," he said.
"I think that situation will improve just a little bit, but we are in a very good situation in terms of demand and offer. We are balanced at the moment."
Foschini called the Urus a game changer for the brand, with more than 70 percent of Urus buyers being new to Lamborghini. Conquesting was a target for the Urus from the start, Foschini said. Lamborghini's mission now will be to keep those new-to-the-brand customers satisfied, he added.
"The customer base is becoming wider and wider," he said. "There's a new kind of profile being attracted by Lamborghini, of people who maybe are not super sports car fans, but who want a car for daily use. They want a high-performance car and a luxury car. Urus is the answer."
Sales of Lamborghini's Huracan and Aventador sports cars also increased in 2018.
"This is a very good moment for sales and performance for Lamborghini," Foschini said. "Not only for Urus, but for the super sports car business."
He acknowledged that maintaining the growth will be a challenge, but Lamborghini has prepared for growth in recent years. The company doubled production capacity at its facility in Sant'Agata Bolognese, Italy.
On a retail level, a dealership improvement plan began in 2016, with redesigned showrooms to reflect a common brand identity and bigger display areas. Lamborghini has been adding dealerships worldwide, while having existing dealers expand their footprint and add service capability.
"This is a big step in three years," Foschini said of the volume growth, comparing 2017's 3,815 sales globally to his 2019 forecast. He said this year's forecast will be a sort of stopping point, at full capacity.
"This is the number that we'd like to keep for some years with the three model lines," he said. "We think that is the natural number, between 7,000 and 8,000 units, in the next years."
Some of that growth will come from the U.S., where Lamborghini's sales jumped 46 percent to 1,595 units in 2018, making it the largest market for Lamborghini by nearly 1,000 units.
"The target is to increase even more," Foschini said. "But there is no doubt that U.S. will remain the main market for our business."
Send us a letter
Have an opinion about this story? Click here to submit a Letter to the Editor, and we may publish it in print.
