Frankfurt: Volkswagen AG is weighing options for its Lamborghini supercar brand, as the German manufacturer moves ahead with an overhaul aimed at more than doubling its market value and getting ahead of an expected industry shakeout, according to people familiar with the matter.
The options VW is mulling include a sale or stock listing, said the people, who asked not to be named because the deliberations are confidential and no decisions have been made.
Chief Executive Officer Herbert Diess plans to focus future expansion on the group’s main global brands — VW, Porsche and Audi — in a push to channel resources more efficiently and avoid duplicated efforts.
Volkswagen said Sunday there are no plans for a sale or public offering of Lamborghini.
A company representative had initially declined to comment.
“The speculations are unfounded,” VW said in an emailed statement Sunday.
Lamborghini’s stretch from supercars to roomier sport utility vehicles probably has helped boost its valuation to about $11 billion (Dh40 billion), making it a viable candidate for an initial public offering, analysts at Bloomberg Intelligence estimated in August.
Sales of the Urus SUV have soared since its introduction in mid-2018.
A redesigned Aventador and new hybrid supercar slated to hit the market next year may help boost margins beyond 30 per cent, BI’s Michael Dean and Gillian Davis wrote in a report.
Diess’s Target
Investors have long urged Volkswagen, the world’s biggest automaker, to free up assets whose value is subsumed within a cumbersome structure that includes everything from Italian supercars to motorcycles and heavy trucks.
While Ferrari NV, once part of Fiat Chrysler, is now worth about $30 billion, VW’s powerful labour unions have stood in the way of similar moves in Germany.
