Rimac announced on Monday that it’s taking over the 110-year-old Bugatti brand from Volkswagen to form a joint venture, called Bugatti Rimac. And if that’s not the best match in the automotive world, I don’t know what is. Seriously.
Rimac’s new shareholder structure
This has brought some changes to the overall shareholder arrangement. First, there’s the newly-formed Rimac Group, led by Mate Rimac with a 37% share, and co-owned by VW’s Porsche unit with 24%, Hyundai with 12%, and other investors with 27%. As part of the deal, the Rimac Group will be the major shareholder of Bugatti Rimac with a 55% stake. The remaining 45% will be held by Porsche, which means that Volkswagen isn’t folding completely. And there’s the Rimac Technology division, an offshoot of the original company, which will focus on the development, production, and supply of battery systems, drivetrains, and other EV components. It will also be 100% retained by the Rimac Group.
What’s the outlook
According to the company’s announcement, both brands will continue to operate independently, maintaining existing production facilities and distribution channels. Rimac’s production will, therefore, remain in Zagreb, Croatia, and Bugatti’s in Molsheim, France. Nevertheless, Bugatti Rimac’s global headquarters will, in time, be situated in the recently announced Rimac Campus, which will open in 2023. The campus will serve as the base for all research and development of future Rimac and Bugatti hypercars. Mate Rimac himself, who will run both Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology, commented: And, well, so are we. Just imagine a super sports car, made with Bugatti’s expertise in design beauty and with Rimac’s high-performance tech. What a hypercar that would be! But since we’ll have to wait for that, here are some images that will spark our dreams in the meantime. Do EVs excite your electrons? Do ebikes get your wheels spinning? Do self-driving cars get you all charged up? Then you need the weekly SHIFT newsletter in your life. Click here to sign up.
