For some, exotic brands offering SUVs continues to be seen heresy. That sentiment is understandable, given that firms like Lamborghini, Maserati and Ferrari are, in the eyes of those folks, all about pure sports cars.
But the real world being what it is, there are questions of profitability to be considered for any automaker. And as has been proven time and again by automakers from Porsche to Bentley to Jaguar and back, SUVs sell very well, and they are very profitable.
That’s all the explanation required to understand why Ferrari is about to launch its first SUV. And it also makes the news that Lamborghini has just produced the 20,000th unit of its Urus SUV not all that shocking. The model launched in 2018, one of its mandates being to become a cash cow for the automaker (and at the very least, a bigger success than the LM002 SUV the company introduced in 1986).
Browse cars for sale available near you
It’s mission accomplished, safe to say. And its sales aren’t slowing either. In July 2020, we reported on the production of the 10,000th model, after some two years on the market. In July 2021, the company assembled the 15,000th. And now the 20,000th model has just left the Sant'Agata Bolognese factory. The milestone Urus is heading to Azerbaijan where its owner awaits.
With 20,000 units produced in just four years, the Urus has become the company's best-selling model in record time. The Italian marque doubled its deliveries and had to hire more than 500 people to meet the demand. The factory that assembles it has doubled in size from 80,000 to 160,000 sq. m.
To out the performance of the Urus in perspective, the Gallardo, which has long been the brand's flagship model, has sold just over 14,000 units. Over a 10-year period.
Last year, on its way to delivering 5,021 units of the Urus, Lamborghini recorded the best sales year in its 59-year history.
As for what's next for the Urus, it looks like it's going to be – wait for it – electrification. But in the short term, the combustion engine of the current model isn’t going anywhere; the transition is not expected to happen until the end of this decade. We could see a plug-in hybrid model appear I the interim, mind you.
