Lamborghini makes room for Urus production

SANT'AGATA BOLOGNESE, Italy — At its debut party here outside Italy's northern city of Bologna, Lamborghini's new Urus dominated the spotlight, a feat to be expected from a candy-coated, 650-hp, $200,000-plus utility vehicle.

But just as noteworthy as the exotic four-door Lambo — introduced by Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni, dozens of factory workers and some glitchy LED screens — was the building where the global debut took place.

Just a few steps from where Lamborghini hand-assembles six Aventadors and 12 Huracan supercars a day, the automaker has built a gleaming production line for the Urus that doubled the plant's footprint to 1.72 million square feet.

"With our third model, we wanted to introduce the most innovative production technologies and smart factory concepts, supporting and complementing the activities of our work force," Ranieri Niccoli, chief manufacturing officer, said of the expanded operation.

Lamborghini, a unit of Volkswagen AG, has plenty riding on the new assembly line and its product. It expects the Urus to double the brand's global sales to 7,000 vehicles in 2019; it has structured the Urus line to build as many as 4,000 vehicles annually should demand take off.

With the Urus — which shares a platform with the Bentley Bentayga, Audi Q7 and Porsche Cayenne — Lamborghini hopes to capitalize on growing global demand for ultra-high-end utility vehicles.

Work began on the new Urus production line 18 months ago; production is to begin in January in time for a spring on-sale date in Europe. The Urus is expected to arrive in U.S. dealerships in the third quarter of 2018 as a 2019 model.

The 700 new workers tasked with assembling the Urus are working on preproduction models. Once production hits full speed, the plant will build 23 vehicles a day, running two shifts for five days a week.

The expanded operation includes a new paint shop and a test track with 13 surfaces oriented toward testing the Urus.