Hyundai and Kia Invested Startup Rimac Acquires Management Rights of 'Bugatti'

Mate Rimac CEO [Photo by AFP Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Byunghee Park] Rimac Automobili, a Croatian luxury electric vehicle startup invested in by Hyundai Motor Company and Kia, will acquire the management rights of the luxury car brand Bugatti through a joint venture.

Rimac will establish a new joint venture named "Bugatti-Rimac," which will take over Bugatti's management, targeting the fourth quarter of this year. Rimac will hold 55% of the joint venture shares, while Porsche will hold 45%. Hyundai Motor Company and Kia hold 11% and 2% stakes in Rimac, respectively. This means Hyundai Motor Company and Kia will indirectly own shares of Bugatti through Rimac.

Both Porsche and Bugatti are brands under the Volkswagen Group. This move is interpreted as Volkswagen, which aims to cease production of internal combustion engine vehicles by 2035, entrusting Bugatti's management to Rimac to focus more on electric vehicle investments.

Porsche holds a 24% stake in Rimac. Therefore, Porsche will still effectively remain the largest shareholder of Bugatti. Combining the 45% direct stake in the joint venture and the indirect stake through Rimac, Porsche's total share in Bugatti-Rimac amounts to 58.2%.

Rimac is a luxury electric vehicle startup founded in 2008 by Mate Rimac, a young electric vehicle engineer born in Croatia. Mate Rimac, who is 33 years old this year, will serve as the CEO of the newly established joint venture Bugatti-Rimac.

While Porsche maintains its effective largest shareholder status in Bugatti, it is entrusting management to Mate Rimac. Mate Rimac currently holds a 37% stake in Rimac. His stake in the new joint venture Bugatti-Rimac will be 20.4%.

The headquarters of Bugatti-Rimac is expected to be located in Zagreb, the capital of Croatia. Bugatti will continue to be produced in France, with only the technical research division moving to the new headquarters in Zagreb.

Mate Rimac has announced plans to fully convert Bugatti to electric vehicles in the mid-to-long term, but for the time being, production will include hybrid models that use internal combustion engines as well. He also mentioned considering an IPO for Bugatti-Rimac but does not plan to rush it.

The Bugatti-Rimac joint venture is expected to initially produce the Bugatti Chiron and Rimac's pure electric vehicle, the Rimac Nevera. Released in 2018, the Rimac Nevera has been selected by numerous automotive magazines as the best luxury electric vehicle.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.