Lamborghini customers are now waiting more than 12 months for a car, CEO says

The wait time for a new Lamborghini SUV or super-car is now over 12 months, as demand from wealthy car lovers shows little sign of slowing, the automaker's chief executive told CNBC on Wednesday.

Despite volatile stock markets and growing economic uncertainty, demand for Lamborghini's is "as high as ever," said Stephan Winkelmann, Lamborghini's CEO.

"It's incredible," Winkelmann said. "It's difficult to make a forecast of what is going to happen and for the rest of the year 2022. But speaking to customers, speaking to all our leaders, we don't see any any slowdown in terms of orders."

The result is a waiting list that is now over 12 months. Prepandemic, the typical waiting list for Lamborghinis was six to nine months. Asked when or if the company's waiting list will ever return to "normal," Winkelmann said demand for high-end cars may have fundamentally reset to a higher level given the sheer amount of wealth created in the past two years.

"What we see is that around the world there are more and more people able to buy a car like ours," he said. "After the pandemic, people wanted to reward themselves. And we have the markets which were flooded with money. I think we are in a very high plateau. I don't know if this is the new normal."

In addition, Lamborghinis have become a favorite for the young rich, who made their newly minted fortunes from crypto, stocks, tech companies and inheritances. Winkelmann said 70% of Lambo customers will be under 40 in 2025.

"We have definitely seen a shift toward a much younger customer," he said.