It’s refreshing to hear about boutique carmakers in between the news from giant automotive groups. This time, it’s from the Croatian electric hypercar maker Rimac Automobili. Besides making their own hypercars, the company has been sharing its battery technology and electromobility components to some of the big names in the industry, including Aston Martin.
In June 2018, Porsche had purchased a 10 percent stake in Rimac. The news is that the Stuttgart-based sports car maker has now upped the stake to 15.5 percent. However, it is unclear whether Rimac assisted Porsche in developing the Taycan which debuted just two days ago.
“Porsche has been supporting Rimac and its positive development for a year now,” says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board at Porsche and Member of the Executive Board responsible for Finance and IT.
We quickly realized that Porsche and Rimac can learn a lot from each other. We believe in what Mate Rimac and his company have to offer, which is why we have now increased our stake and intend to intensify our collaboration in the field of battery technology. – Meschke
Croatian automotive superstar Mate Rimac (31)
Gaining Porsche as a stakeholder was one of the most important milestones in our history. The fact that Porsche is now increasing its stake is the best form of confirmation for our collaboration and represents the foundation for an even closer relationship. – Mate Rimac, MD, Rimac Automobili
“We are only at the start of our partnership – yet we have already met our high expectations. We have many collaborative ideas that we aim to bring to life in the future. The fundamental focus is creating a win-win situation for both partners and offering our end customers added value by developing exciting, electrified models,” he adds.
Rimac started developing his vision of a fast, electric sports car in a garage in 2009. His latest creation is the C_Two electric hypercar, unveiled at the Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018. The company now employs a workforce of around 550. Besides Porsche, Hyundai and Kia too own stakes in Rimac.
Does it mean that Rimac is no longer a boutique carmaker? It probably doesn’t matter. After all, lots of money is required to build such hypercars.
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