It appears no automaker — or customer demographic — is immune to the world’s ongoing economic crisis. Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann confirmed Wednesday his company has started to receive a significant number of order cancellations.
“I always said there is no immunity for luxury brands. It was only a matter of time,” Winkelmann said in an interview at the Geneva Motor show with the Associated Press. He said the luxury market appears to be down 40 percent in the first two months of 2009. “We’re not there, but close,” he said, referring to Lambo’s sales declines.
The good news for customers with cars currently on order is wait times have dropped significantly, from over one year to roughly six months. The company has received 100 orders for the new $450,000 Murcielago LP 670-4 SuperVeloce (pictured), which is limited to a production run of 350. In a booming economy, there’s little doubt the car would already be sold out.
Winkelmann said despite the problems, the focus is simply on remaining profitable, rather than introducing cheaper models to boost sales. “It’s about keeping the brand pure, not having it diluted,” Winkelmann said.
Lamborghini put 20 percent of its 1000-person workforce on temporary layoff for two weeks last month. It’s not known if or when further temporary or permanent cuts will come.
