Bugatti-Rimac sports car maker started in Croatia

Rimac owns 55 percent of the company, while Porsche owns 45 percent. Mate Rimac takes over the management

The Bugatti-Rimac joint venture is present and operating in Croatia. This was announced by Volkswagen subsidiary Porsche on Tuesday in Stuttgart. In the summer, the relationship between luxury sports car brand Bugatti and Croatian electric sports car specialist Rimac was agreed upon. Rimac owns 55 percent of the joint venture, while Porsche owns 45 percent.

Mate Rimac has been appointed as Managing Director of the company, which is headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia and has 435 employees. Stefan Winkelmann, the former head of handcrafted luxury car maker Molsheim, resigned from his position at the end of October. He’s focusing on his job at Lamborghini.

In the summer, Volkswagen abandoned the majority of its French luxury brand Bugatti. Rimac has been interested in expensive and fast cars for a long time. According to the announcement, Bugatti and Rimac Automobili will continue to operate as independent brands and manufacturers under the new joint venture umbrella. They maintain their own production facilities in Zagreb and Molsheim. The new company is scheduled to move to the new Rimac campus in 2023. Joint research and development for the two brands will also take place there.

Porsche and Rimac have been linked for several years. Porsche has had a stake in Rimac since 2018, and the sports car manufacturer currently owns 24 percent of the Croatian company.

(APA/DSPA)