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CAR interviews Lambo bosses Stephan Winkelmann and Maurizio Reggiani (2010)

By Tim Pollard Motor Industry 16 April 2010 09:49 CAR sat recently sat down for a one-to-one interview with Automobili Lamborghini president and chief executive Stephan Winkelmann and R&D director Maurizio Reggiani. The two bosses discuss future plans, what having Porsche as a partner means, the prospect of hybrid Lambos and how they’ve coped with a global recession that’s wiped 40% off their sales.CAR: Supercar makers had a torrid time in the recession. Will you ever recover to the record 2008 levels?Stephan Winkelmann: ‘It’s difficult to imagine that this will be any time soon.

Renault-Nissan and Mitsubishi to join forces

MITSUBISHI and the existing Renault-Nissan alliance are set to work together on a series of new cars. Discussions aren’t finished but as part of the deal Mitsubishi will get hold of a Renault chassis large enough to use as a base a full-size saloon for the North American market. The firms will also further develop an electric version of a Japan-only ‘kei car’.

BMW ‘i' subbrand aims for 2013 launch

BMW has confirmed that the new subbrand through which it intends to market a range of advanced stand-alone hybrid, range-extended and plug-in electric models will be called BMW “i.” Created to develop, produce and market what BMW's head of marketing, Ian Robertson, describes as “innovative solutions to premium mobility,” the brand will be supported by a company established by BMW called i Ventures, through which the German carmaker plans to grow its range of mobility services. The i3 and the i8 will be the initial models and are planned for introduction in 2013. “These cars have been designed specifically for their respective alternative drive systems,” said Klaus Draeger, head of BMW's R&D operations.