Following a difficult first half, Volkswagen ’s Lamborghini supercar division has posted a disappointing 2009. Lamborghini’s global sales tumbled 37 percent during the first six months of 2009, with the full on year seeing a further dip to 37.7 percent.
Lamborghini managed just 1,515 global sales in 2009, down from 2,430 units a year earlier. Moreover, things got worse for Lamborghini as the year went on – despite a slightly better economic outlook – with second half sales slipping to 690 units. Lamborghini sold 825 cars during the first half of the year.
Lamborghini CEO Stephan Winkelmann was hopeful the company would remain in the black for the full-on year, but the Italian automaker posted a pre-tax loss of $47.6 million in 2009. That compares to $7.7 million profit during the first half of 2009.
Despite the bleak results, Lamborghini is still looking to the future, boosting R&D spending 32 percent. The Italian automaker is still committed to its goal of producing at least one new model per year.
2010 will likely be another rough year for Lamborghini, with the company not expecting any major improvements until 2011.
