Lamborghini picks ex-Ferrari F1 team boss as CEO

[BERLIN] Volkswagen's Italian supercar brand Lamborghini named former Ferrari Formula One team boss Stefano Domenicali as its new chief executive next month, replacing long-time CEO Stephan Winkelmann.

Domenicali, who has been vice president for "new business initiatives" at Lamborghini's parent Audi since November 2014, will succeed Winkelmann on March 15, the carmaker said on Tuesday.

Volkswagen (VW) has swapped out about a dozen top managers at group and brand level and touted a reformed corporate culture since its emissions test-rigging scandal broke last September.

Winkelmann, a former senior manager at Fiat Chrysler Automobiles' predecessor company Fiat SpA, has stood at the helm of Lamborghini since 2005.

Under his watch, deliveries at the VW-owned brand have more than doubled to a record 3,245 cars last year while revenues have more than tripled.

Winkelmann also won approval from parent VW last year for a third model series, the Urus sport-utility vehicle, production of which will create 500 new jobs at the brand's Sant'Agata Bolognese-based factory. The model will be launched in 2018.

Lamborghini said Winkelmann will on March 15 become head of Audi's high-performance car division quattro GmbH, which builds Audi's top-end R sports car.

REUTERS