November 27, 2024

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Francesco Scardaoni, Asia Pacific regional director of Lamborghini, speaks during a group interview at Times Aerospace Korea in Gimpo, Gyeonggi Province, Friday. (Lamborghini Korea)

South Korea has become Lamborghini’s eighth-largest market in the world and No.1 in the Asia Pacific last year, selling over 400 units for the first time. With the growing strategic importance of the Korean market, the Italian high-end car brand is upping the ante here with its first hybrid sports car Revuelto, according to the company’s regional chief.

“(Even before the official launch,) through pre-orders, the allocated number of cars until 2025 for the Korean market has completely sold out. This is a phenomenal result. We believe Lamborghini’s design fits Korean style,” said Francesco Scardaoni, the Asia Pacific regional director of Lamborghini, during a recent interview held upon Renuelto’s Korea debut last week.

“Since my two years and counting term as the CEO of the region, I’ve been visiting Korea every two months on average because it is one of the key markets for us,” Scardaoni added. “Despite the global economic downturn, the performance of the Korean market in the luxury segment is exceptional. We expect that it hasn’t reached its peak and will witness constant growth.”

Although the regional director declined to disclose the specific numbers of preorders for the carmaker’s flagship Huracan sports car, the Urus SUV and the latest Revuelto this year, he stressed the company is foreseeing another record year that is highly likely to surpass last year’s 403 unit sales.

Despite its stellar performance of the Korean market, Scardaoni said Lamborghini’s basic sales strategy is to prevent oversupply and maintain constant and controlled growth for all of its product lineups.

In a move to cater to the increasing appetite for high-end cars in Korea, the Italian car brand plans to carry out a variety of marketing activities and events. It is poised to hold the fourth round of the Lamborghini Blancpain Super Trofeo Asia Series in Korea in August this year.

It will open a new showroom in the southeastern port city of Busan sometime next year to tap into more customer base in the nation’s provincial areas outside Seoul.

Starting with Revuelto, the company is revamping its two-phase electrification strategy consisting of hybrid and fully-electric vehicles. It will launch hybrid versions of the Huracan and Urus in 2024. By 2028, a battery-powered cross-utility vehicle with two front seats and two rear seats targeting the whole new EV segment will make its market debut.

“Our ideal car lineup will range from internal combustion engine cars to EVs, hybrid cars and synthetic fuel vehicles. We can’t completely give up gas-powered cars because it is difficult to develop electrified versions of sports cars,” said Scardaoni.

Scardaoni joined Lamborghini as the after-sales regional manager for southern Europe and the Middle East in 2009.

By Byun Hye-jin (hyejin2@heraldcorp.com)