Croatia’s Rimac Automobili buys controlling stake in Bugatti from Volkswagen Group

Croatian electric supercar producer Rimac Automobili has purchased a majority in super luxury automaker Bugatti Automobiles from Volkswagen Group. With this acquisition, the new company will be called Bugatti Rimac, according to Financial Times.

Rimac Group’s shareholders consist of Porsche, which owns 24%, Hyundai with 12%, Rimac founder Mate Rimac with 37%, and other investors, which own the remaining 27%. 

According to the deal, Rimac will own 55% of Bugatti, and the rest will be in the hands of by Porsche, which is under the Volkswagen Group umbrella. 

New company structure 

Bugatti Automobiles and Rimac Automobili will be under Bugatti Rimac’s umbrella, the global headquarter of which will be in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, set to open in 2023. 

Mate Rimac will be acting as CEO of Rimac Group and will head both Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology. The company was founded as a one-man startup in 2009 and has since then grown exponentially.

“This is a truly exciting moment in the short, yet rapidly expanding history of Rimac Automobili,” Mate Rimac said. “We have gone through so much in such a short space of time, but this new venture takes things to a completely new level. Rimac and Bugatti are a perfect match in terms of what we each bring to the table.”

“We are combining Bugatti’s strong expertise in the hypercar business with Rimac’s tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of elctromobility,” said Oliver Blume, chairman of the executive board at Porsche AG. “Bugatti is contributing a tradition-rich brand, iconic products, a loyal customer base and a global dealer network to the joint venture. In addition to technology, Rimac is contributing new development and organizational approaches.”

Bugatti was originally bought by Volkswagen Group in 1998 for $50m. They also closed deals with Rolls-Royce and LAmborghini as a part of a luxury car investment spree.