by One would have thought that clients of super-luxury brands like Lamborghini are immune to things that frighten the hell out of us mere mortals – like, say, rising costs due to the newly imposed US tariffs on imports. But that assumption would be wrong. Even Lamborghini’s wealthy customers aren’t thrilled about the added expense. That’s the big takeaway from a new interview with none other than Stephan Winkelmann.
Tariffs Are Affecting Everyone
While our initial assumption, that millionaires and billionaires are immune to price hikes, may seem logical to us, Lambo’s CEO points out the obvious: those people are wealthy for a reason – they watch their money closely and don’t like unnecessary premiums.
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Right now, European automakers like Lamborghini are dealing with a 27.5 percent tariff on U.S. exports. That’s almost double the 15 percent rate that the White House announced a week ago and has yet to implement. On cars that start around $400,000 and can push into the seven figures, that added cost is big enough for some buyers to simply wait to see what happens next.
“Some are waiting because they want to be sure that this is the final number,” Winkelmann explained to CNBC. Some are proceeding, but others are negotiating on that final price. Would this kind of hit to business cause Lamborghini to consider moving production? Several automakers have done exactly that in an effort to sidestep tariffs, but don’t expect it here.
Money To Burn? Not Really
“Made in Italy” is what Winkelmann described as a core part of the brand. That might be a big part of Lamborghini’s appeal, but it does mean that buyers will have to pay for the tariffs imposed by Donald Trump. “They are millionaires or billionaires for a reason, so they know what they’re doing and why they’re doing things,” said Winkelmann.
“For us, free trade is the right approach. We all know that is what we want. But then there is the reality, and we have to deal with complexity, since we are in business. We are ready to face whatever comes.”
Prices Are Already Climbing
Part of the brand’s strategy appears to be price hikes, something we’re seeing all over the industry as a direct result of tariffs. Analysts warned that buyers, not companies, would be the ones to pay for tariffs, and sure enough, that’s happening. Lamborghini has raised prices by 7-10 percent, and that makes tariffs all the more impactful.
