LAMBORGHINI will spend more than US$1.8 billion to build hybrid versions of its rowdy Italian sport utility vehicle (SUV) and powerful supercars by 2024.

But the proposed hybrids are likely to be paltry compared to the volume of throaty V12 engines which the 59-year-old brand is famous for producing. Last year, Lamborghini recorded its best sales results ever, with 8,405 cars delivered globally. And company executives have yet to specify when — if ever — they will focus only on electric vehicles (EVs).

“We don’t need to decide now,” said Lamborghini chairman and chief executive officer Stephan Winkelmann during a reporter roundtable on Jul 27, when asked whether the company was planning to switch its fleet to only EVs, as brands such as Audi and Bentley have pledged. “We have at least a few years to decide.”