Porsche AG, VW’s luxury sports car unit, plans to partner with Croatia’s Rimac Automobili to form a Zagreb-based joint venture (JV) called Bugatti-Rimac, expected to launch in the last quarter of the year.
Oliver Blume, Porsche AG’s chief executive officer, stated to the media on Jul 5 that the JV will combine Bugatti’s expertise in the hypercar industry with Rimac’s strength in electric mobility.
Bugatti-Rimac will have a combined workforce of approximately 430 in Zagreb and Molsheim and produce two models; the Bugatti Chiron and the all-electric Rimac Nevera. Porsche added that all Bugatti models will still be produced at the company’s Molsheim factory.
Bugatti will be transferred to the JV, with Rimac holding a 55pc stake. Mate Rimac, Rimac’s chief executive officer, will be at the helm. Additionally, Blume and Lutz Meschke, Porsche’s AG finance chief, will join the Bugatti-Rimac’s supervisory board.
Porsche AG increased its shares in Rimac to 24pc as a part of a deal that valued the latter at $943mn.