The Quantum Holding did not name a purchase price, but outlined its plans: Together with several partners, Quantum wanted to form a platform for strong brands and technology and was also considering the takeover of the Volkswagen subsidiary, the Zug-based holding announced on Wednesday With. “The intention behind the valid offer is to transform and strengthen the Lamborghini brand,” says the announcement.
The magazines “Autocar” and “Automobilwoche” had previously reported that Quantum, together with the London financial investor Centricus, was offering 7.5 billion euros (8.25 billion Swiss francs) for the luxury sports car brand. Quantum wants to give the 1,800 employees a five-year employment guarantee. A spokesman for the Volkswagen subsidiary Audi, to which Lamborghini has belonged since 1998, said on Wednesday: “That doesn’t change anything: Lamborghini is not for sale.” Another Audi spokeswoman also said that there was no discussion of any kind in the group.
Lamborghini sold 7,430 expensive SUVs and sports cars last year, generating 1.6 billion euros (1.75 billion Swiss francs). The brand makes an “important contribution to the profitability” of Audi, it was said. Lamborghini is working on an electric car with wheel hub motors and nano-energy storage devices that can be integrated into the body. Instead of heavy batteries, supercapacitors should supply the electricity.
The founder of Quantum is Rea Stark, who is considered a close confidante of Anton Piech, the son of the ex-VW supervisory board Ferdinand Piech. The two men together founded the electric car startup Piech Automotive, where former Porsche boss Matthias Müller also works.
There is always speculation about the future of luxury brands such as Lamborghini, Bugatti and Bentley or the motorcycle manufacturer Ducati in the VW Group. The group includes Skoda and Seat as well as Porsche and the truck manufacturers MAN and Scania. VW has now merged these into the Traton commercial vehicle holding company and listed 10 percent of the shares on the stock exchange.