A Next-Generation Urus Hybrid Is Coming Before Lamborghini Goes Electric

When Lamborghini announced it had decided to make the Urus exclusively as a plug-in hybrid, the news came with a caveat. The PHEV-only Urus was meant to be temporary. Not because a new gas-only model was coming, but because Lambo’s plans were to make it fully electric by the end of the decade. You probably see where this is going.

Now those plans have changed. There will be an all-new generation of the Urus before the end of the decade, and it will come with a plug and an engine once again. That news comes straight from Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann, who said that changing regulations were responsible for the new model and the delays in the EV.

Lamborghini’s Buyers Want Combustion Power

“We want to have a new generation again as a plug-in hybrid,” Winkelmann told Autocar. “This is something very important for us and for the customers. And they were very happy to hear about this,” he said about the news of the new generation.

In November 2024, Lamborghini officials first hinted at a change of plans. Marketing boss Frederico Foschini implied that there were some delays in the plan to have an all-electric Urus by 2029. He said that Lamborghini would have to make changes to the Urus in the interim because it couldn’t sell the same car for 10 years. Meaning the current Urus couldn’t go from its launch in 2018 until the 2035 ICE cutoff in the EU, because buyers wouldn’t accept it and because it would likely fall foul of changing regulations.

In this interview, Winkelmann suggested that the new-generation Urus would arrive in 2029. He said the electric model is now set for 2035 instead of 2029, and even that seemed like a hazy timeline. It’s based on when the EU plans to ban CO2 emissions from new cars, so it could move if (or perhaps when) those rules change.

Lambo Remains Flexible To Meet The Market

With Volkswagen Group sibling Porsche making a similar decision with the Cayenne and Cayenne electric, Lamborghini’s decision might not be much of a surprise. But while the next gas Cayenne will be a facelift, Winkelmann said the new Urus PHEV would be an all-new generation. That means a new design, though the CEO said the new design wasn’t set in stone just yet.

Lamborghini’s electric plans may be changing, but they remain flexible. Winkelmann told Autocar that “we have enough time to see what is happening in terms of acceptance, in terms of regulations, and in terms of infrastructure and, last but not least, also terms of generational change.” The company could pull the full EV forward from 2035 if the market demanded, selling it and gas together, or it could drop it entirely if the market swung that way.

Related

Lamborghini Is About To Revive The Hardcore Urus It Killed Last Year

A new Urus prototype has been spied, and it’s either a facelift or a more hardcore model. Here’s why we think it’s the latter.

As for the Lanzador electric, its future is still hanging. Winkelmann said that the end of the decade “should be the right timing,” but that the final decision will be made early in 2026. The Lanzador was already pushed back from 2028 until 2029. Winkelmann will soon have to make a very big – and likely very expensive – decision on whether the market will be ready for a quiet electric Lambo by then, or if buyers need more time to accept such a thing.

Source: Autocar