In a move that is aimed at helping Volkswagen take on a greater role in the electric vehicle market, the German automaker has plans to sell its Bugatti brand to Rimac, a Croatian automaker that focuses on electric supercars. The Volkswagen Group is partially owned by Porsche, which itself already has a 15% stake in Rimac; a number that will increase to 49% ownerships with the acquisition of the Bugatti brand under the terms of the agreement.
The Volkswagen Group is one of the largest and most popular automakers in the world, having surpassed Toyota in overall sales in 2016 and maintained that position in 2017, 2018, and 2019. Rimac is a relative newcomer to the auto industry, having started in 2009 as a company that sought to develop electric technology for sports cars—something they have had tremendous success with in a very short period of time. Rimac’s Concept One car, developed in 2011 and brought to production in 2013, was claimed to be the electric car with the fastest acceleration in the world at the time.
Rimac’s early accomplishments in the world of supercharged electric performance vehicles did not go unnoticed either. Since then, they have partnered with several other top names in the auto and racing industry to form alliances or official partnerships to help them grow their brand and technology with mutually beneficial business endeavors. According to founder Mate Rimac, their technology is being used by at least 15 different companies and has partnerships that include the likes of Hyundai, Jaguar, and Aston Marting among other major names in the auto industry.
Though the deal between Rimac Automobili and the Volkswagen group is not yet official, all signs seem to be pointing toward it coming to fruition in the very near future. With Rimac positioned as one of the top names in electric vehicles in Europe, it stands to reason that VW is making an attempt to leverage the market there for their future endeavors into electric vehicle development. Currently, U.S. automaker Tesla is one of the top names in EV autos, especially among luxury brands, which is a space in which plans to make some waves.
The move comes as something of a shift in focus for the Volkswagen group as it aims to tailor their considerable research and development efforts toward the future of automobiles that implement the newest technologies in both electric powered vehicles and autonomous driving capabilities.
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