‘There’s no economy in world that’s growing like India’s’: Lamborghini APAC regional director

When it comes to India potentially becoming one of Lamborghini’s most significant markets in the Asia Pacific region, Francesco Scardaoni, the regional director for the Asia Pacific division of Automobili Lamborghini is understandably bullish – no pun intended. When asked about a tentative timeline for India becoming one of the top five markets for Lamborghini in the Asia Pacific region, Scardaoni’s words are measured, much like the impeccable cut of his suit “Growth depends on several factors. I mean of course India is the fastest growing economy, I would say there’s no other economy in the world that is growing like India, but in terms of infrastructure it’s not yet quite developed”.

Although the sales figures are considerably less than those of key markets in the APAC region, Lamborghini India is on an upward trajectory, witnessing triple-digit year-on-year growth. Enough growth to consider a fourth showroom in the country. However, Scardaoni says that the geographically dynamic nature of growth in the Indian market makes it challenging to pinpoint which region in the country should benefit from a showroom. “We’re monitoring the entire country. If you had asked me this question six or eight months ago, I would have told you that the southeast part of the country looked more promising. But in six months, everything has changed” says Scardaoni. “You see the number of startups that are rising up in India, those are creating a huge chain of wealth. So we need to monitor the situation on a daily basis before we settle on a location. We’ve already covered the Tier 1 cities, but now we’re focusing on Tier 2 and Tier 3.”

On paradox of India’s promising-yet-lacklustre infrastructure

An increasing number of Indians would attest that it’s no country for supercars. And Scardaoni does acknowledge that India’s patchwork infrastructure has played a role in impeding growth in sales. This is particularly true of India’s urban infrastructure, as, Scardaoni acknowledges, the national highway infrastructure has seen impressive growth. He’s also optimistic about the slew of racetracks coming-up near cities like Hyderabad, Bangalore and Pune, as it helps build supercar culture. “Racetracks help us cultivate super sports car culture. We’ve seen it in other countries, since the setting-up of racetracks, customers started to enjoy supercars more, by driving them in a safe environment.” In a country with the highest number of road fatalities, the existence of safe zones to max out supercar performance takes on far greater significance. “In our markets with a growing number of racetracks, we always introduce more track-based activities, like Esperienza where our customers, guided by professional instructors, learn to enjoy cars in a safe environment. We’ve also added a one-make series, which has brought additional knowledge of super sports car culture into the country”.

On tariff wars and rising geopolitical tensions

Although the Indian automotive industry has remained relatively immune to the repercussions of the tariff wars between the US and China, it’s clearly brought about volatility in the global markets. Volatility that could possibly affect Lamborghini India’s growth targets for the year. “Tariffs are never the right choice because at the end, it’s the customer who is penalised. We believe that a free trade situation stimulates a competitive economy. So we’re constantly monitoring the development of the tariff situation.” Speaking about the rising geopolitical tension between India and Pakistan, and how that could affect market sentiment in India, Scardaoni said “The terrorist attack in Kashmir, y’know the sentiment of customers can be be quite strongly influenced by what has happened, so it’s hard to predict the long-term outcome”

On use of e-fuels and saving future of Lamborghini’s internal combustion engines

With Lamborghini India having just launched the Temerario – the brand’s latest mid-engined hybrid offering – the brand is clearly going to retain its internal combustion powertrains for another decade. The Temerario is now the third plug-in hybrid offering from the brand, following its latest flagship – the Revuelto and the Urus SE Hybrid. Scardaoni confirms that hybrid powertrains are to be a mainstay in Lamborghini’s future line-ups. “Our customers were asking us to keep the internal combustion engines. And we did it. For us, with hybridisation, there is no compromise. Hybridisation only adds features, improves performance and has lower emissions”

“Of course, we are investing in synthetic fuels for the future in terms of research to understand if different government regulations will allow us to play with synthetic fuels. In an ideal scenario, our super sports cars will run on synthetic fuels and then a fourth one can be electric.”

On brand’s certified pre-owned Lamborghini programme

“For many of our customers, the first Lamborghini is through the pre-owned market. Mostly because of the waiting time because we always supply fewer cars than the demand. So when you have to wait for two years for a car, sometimes the first step is to get a used car,” says Scardaoni, attesting to the appeal of the brand’s own pre-owned sales programme. “With the certified pre-owned program, Lamborghini offers the chance to drive a brand new used Lamborghini, with warranty intact.” However, he adds that for many, owning a pre-owned Lamborghini is a stop-gap measure to get their adrenaline fix while their all-new Lamborghini is being hand-built in Bologna. But based on the sub-one hundred individual orders placed annually from the Indian market, access to the coveted Lamborghini club comes through purchasing a new vehicle.