Will the Lamborghini brand be sold now after all? Allegedly, the Swiss Quantum Group and the British investment company Centricus Asset Management want to pay 7.5 billion euros for the Audi subsidiary.
According to information from Automobilwoche, a corresponding “Letter of Intent” is to be handed over on Wednesday and is available to the industry newspaper. Quantum boss Rea Stark Rajcic founded the new sports car brand Piëch Automotive two years ago with Anton Piëch, the son of the former VW patriarch Ferdinand Piëch. At VW and Audi, however, the offer has met with little interest.
Both VW boss Herbert Diess and Audi boss Markus Duesmann knew about the offer, reports the “Autocar” magazine, citing purchase documents. An Audi spokesman said Lamborghini was not for sale. “That is not the subject of any discussion in the group,” said the Audi spokesman. Centricus could not initially be reached for comment. Lamborghini has been part of Audi since 1998.
Piëch-Sohn involved in the purchase offer?
According to the report, Quantum is represented by Rea Stark, who is considered a close confidante of Anton Piëch, the son of the ex-VW supervisory board Ferdinand Piëch. The two men jointly founded the electric car start-up Piëch Automotive, where the former Porsche boss Matthias Müller also works. It is currently unclear whether Piëch and Müller are directly involved in the purchase offer, the report said.
At the Geneva Motor Show 2019, Piëch Automotive presented the study of a two-seater electric sports car that can be charged in less than five minutes. At that time, the start of series production was announced for 2022.
Strategic partnership with VW
According to information from Automobilwoche, Quantum is offering Lamborghini employees a five-year employment guarantee and intends to take over the Italian automaker’s VW management team. After buying the brand, they want to enter into a strategic partnership with Volkswagen. The aim is to make Lamborghini a figurehead for clean drives. Quantum wants to found an Advanced Automotive Innovation Center in Lower Saxony, the home of VW, in which, among other things, batteries and battery cells will be developed and produced. The new company will not only work for Quantum.
CEO Herbert Diess actually flirted with a separation from the brand last year. But in December the board of directors called off the plans. Lamborghini will remain part of the group, the committee decided. Above all, the then head of the works council, Bernd Osterloh, had opposed a separation. The topic is completely off the table, confirmed Audi boss Markus Duesmann in mid-April to the Automobilwoche. Partial sales are also not up for discussion.
Sources: Automobilwoche, APA