Rimac engineering division became a separate company
Rimac Technology will develop electric vehicle technologies for both the parent company and other manufacturers.
The first information that Volkswagen is preparing to sell the Bugatti brand appeared in the media in the fall of 2020 (VW has owned it since 1998). Then the problems with the constant tightening of environmental standards and the general transition to the development and production of “green” transport were called as the reason. The fact is that the development of a new electric vehicle platform for the production of Bugatti supercars promised too high costs for the German manufacturer.
As a result, Bugatti Automobiles merged with Rimac Automobili, officially announced last summer, and in November the merger was finally completed: the Bugatti Rimac joint venture began its work at the same time. As previously reported by Kolesa.ru, the headquarters of the joint venture is located in Croatia. Now the Volkswagen concern is not directly related to the new partnership: 45% of the joint venture is owned by Porsche (part of VW), the remaining 55% is owned by the Croatian startup Rimac.
In the photo: Rímac refrigerator
Recall, Mate Rimac has been appointed head of the new joint venture Bugatti Rimac. Christophe Pichon (former director of production and logistics) became president of Bugatti. He, along with Porsche boss Oliver Blume and CFO Lutz Meschke, are on the joint venture's board of directors. Stefan Winkelmann, who previously headed Bugatti, left his post and now remains in one project: heading Lamborghini.
The engineering division of Rimac Technology has now officially become a separate company and will develop electric vehicle technologies for both the Rimac Group and other manufacturers. To date, Rimac Group owns a controlling stake (55%) of Bugatti Rimac JV, as well as 100% of Rimac Technology. It is assumed that this will allow the Croatian company to maintain the confidentiality of its own developments.
The subsidiary intends to expand its activities in the design, development, production, and supply of high-performance battery systems, electric drives, various user interface systems and components, etc. Please note that the list of Third-Party Customers in the Croatian startup group previously included Porsche, Kia, Hyundai, Pininfarina, Koenigsegg, Aston Martin and others.
Currently, Rimac Technology has 1,000 employees, but in 2023 the company will move to a new building that can accommodate more than 2.5 thousand employees: we are talking about the Rimac Group campus with an area of 200 thousand square meters. Recall that the production of the Nevera hypercar will be launched at the facilities of the joint venture. According to the company, by 2024 the joint venture intends to produce “tens of thousands of high-performance systems” annually, and then the number is planned to increase to hundreds of thousands.
As it became known earlier, despite the formation of the joint venture, the French production site of Bugatti remained and continues to function – the current Chiron is produced on its premises. At the end of last year, it was reported that out of the planned circulation of the model (500 pieces), 460 pieces were produced. The French brand's production schedule includes the launch of the Bugatti Bolide production hypercar in 2024.
