Lambo gears up for Urus production

LAMBORGHINI will ramp up its workforce over the coming months in preparation for production of the Urus SUV at its Sant'Agata Bolognese factory.

The iconic Italian car-maker confirmed that it hired 150 assembly line workers, technicians and specialists in the past year, on open-ended contracts, for the Urus project, while a further 500 are expected to employed in the coming years.

In the past five years, Lamborghini says it has hired more than 600 new employees for its Italian operation and its total workforce now stands at 1300.

Automobili Lamborghini president and CEO Stephan Winkelmann said the Urus would ensure sustainable growth for the car-maker, and highlighted the investment in its workforce.

“Lamborghini is experiencing strong, steady growth in sales and also in its workforce,” he said. “We are getting ready for groundbreaking changes with the introduction of our third model in 2018, which points to stable, sustainable growth for our company.

“This is why our investments in human resources are more important than ever, as we continue to focus on excellence and continuous improvements in this new phase of the company's future.”

The company said in a release that the recruitment drive supports the development of the Urus “super sports SUV” that is set to “take the company into a new era”.

To make room for production of the Urus, the company will double the size of the manufacturing facility from 80,000 square metres to 150,000m2.

The company's first crossover will launch globally in 2018 and is likely to be based on the concept of the same name that made its debut at the 2012 Beijing motor show.

In December last year, Mr Winkelmann told UK publication Autocar that the Urus would be powered by a 4.0-litre twin-turbocharged V8, eschewing the V10 and V12 engines of its Huracan and Aventador stablemates.

Lamborghini research and development boss Maurizio Reggiani told the publication that the engine would be only used by Lamborghini, and not shared with any other VW Group brands.

Mr Winklemann said in the Autocar interview that a plug-in hybrid powertrain was still a possibility for Urus down the track and that it would be “strictly four-wheel drive”.

A production version of the Urus is expected to be revealed either at the 2017 Frankfurt motor show or 2018 Geneva show.

The Italian high-performance car-maker also announced a record global sales haul for 2015, shifting 3245 vehicles last year, up from 2530 units in 2014.

In Australia, Lamborghini sales hit 84 units, up more than 211 per cent over its 2014 result. The Volkswagen Group brand does not split its model tally, but as GoAuto has reported, the opening of a new showroom in Brisbane and the roll-out of the Huracan has had a significant impact on sales.