[RahulNagaraj]

Croatian electric hypercar brand, Rimac is said to go public in 2022. According to a media report, Rimac is said to be aiming at a valuation of 5 billion euros.



Reports also suggest that Rimac is planning to takeover Bugatti, in a joint venture with Porsche. As part of the joint venture, Rimac will hold a 55% stake at Bugatti, while Porsche controls the remaining 45%.

The Croatian hypercar maker was set up in 2009 and since then has grown exponentially, after securing investments from Porsche and Hyundai. Rimac just recently unveiled its second hypercar, the Nevera with a 1914 BHP electric powertrain, capable of accelerating from 0 - 100 km/h in 1.85 seconds.

Source: Reuters

Link to Team-BHP news

[CEF_Beasts]

VW has given control of Bugatti to Porsche, Porsche has gone ahead and announced a new JV with the Croatian EV Supercar maker Rimac, to give birth to a new company Bugatti-Rimac!

Porsche holding direct 45% stake in Bugatti and Rimac the other 55%. (Porsche holds 24% stake in Rimac directly as well.)

CEO of Bugatti-Rimac will be Mate Rimac the man behind Rimac Automobili.

Exciting times ahead with the Rimac Nevara and Bugatti Chiron





https://www.instagram.com/p/CQ89lTqN...dium=copy_link

[Shreyans_Jain]

I have a feeling VW realises their W16 wizardry has finally met its match in Rimac’s insane electric power train. What’s the best way to maintain their painstakingly built ‘fastest in the world’ moniker? Buy the new fastest in the world. Guess the era of high revving, screaming, gas guzzling supercars is indeed coming to a close.

[TrackDay]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hhUI6XmnTh8

Kudos to Mate Rimac. At just 33 years of age, this is indeed a very huge achievement. He has put Croatia too on the automobile map and I bet the folks in his hometown must be very proud of him. Hoping a truly revolutionary next stage vehicle comes out of this marriage of Bugatti with Rimac.

Rimac and Bugatti family tree

Image source: https://www.rimac-automobili.com/med...c-new-venture/

[extreme_torque]

Given its a Bugatti, whatever comes out wont be cheap. It will still be the blue blood royalty not democratic performance like a Tesla. I guess we need an electric car company for the billionaires to buy their wares from.

I dont think its good for Mate Rimac. He could have been the next Tesla or the Elon Musk but then again, may be he isnt that ambitious.

[GTO]

Would've never imagined a hallowed brand like Bugatti going from a rich owner like VW to a relative unknown like Rimac. It's like Mukesh Ambani selling Antilia to a dot com billionaire like Binny Bansal. Rimac is more in the B2B & OEM business than B2C, I mean how many cars have they even sold?

What is even more confusing is Porsche has a stake in Rimac & VW, while Rimac at the same time gets a stake in Bugatti. The cross-ownership boggles the mind.

I never thought VW with its giant planet-sized ego would let go of a solitaire-grade diamond like Bugatti. While I'm shocked that VW is losing control of such a legendary brand (it takes 100 years to build a brand such as Bugatti), I'm even more surprised its gone to Rimac! Akin to Neeta Ambani selling one of her flagship diamond sets to Binny Bansal's wife.

In the era of EVs, cars & their powertrains are going to become commoditised. The main differentiators will be brand + design. IMHO, VW will come to regret this decision in a decade or two.

[mac187]

It interesting why this decision was taken in the first place? I am not able to figure it out.

Some scenarios I am pondering

- Electric cars are the future
. VW is investing in electric too, ID4 review are great. They maybe behind but with their might have a fair chance of catching up.

- Rimac has next gen tech ready
. Then VW could have just bought them outright. Sure they may have to pay through their nose but that's their investment for the future. Ask Yahoo, how they feel about giving up Google for, what now is loose change.

- Why Bugatti? Why not any of the zillion brands they own?

[abhishek46]

Originally Posted by mac187

- Rimac has next gen tech ready
. Then VW could have just bought them outright. Sure they may have to pay through their nose but that's their investment for the future. Ask Yahoo, how they feel about giving up Google for, what now is loose change.

- Why Bugatti? Why not any of the zillion brands they own?

Rimac was not currently up for sale!
How do you buy a company, which does not want to 'sell' itself?
Of course, there are ways, like slowly increase the stock holding etc., but that will take time.

Why Bugatti?
Well, I can take a calculated guess.
From all the brands owned by VAG, Bugatti was probably the least profitable.
After the diesel gate fiasco, VAG has been trying to cut costs everywhere possible. Hence, letting go Bugatti, is indeed the right choice.

[mac187]

Originally Posted by abhishek46

Rimac was not currently up for sale!

From all the brands owned by VAG, Bugatti was probably the least profitable.

There are a million ways to take over a company unscrupulously. Alternatively, they could have made Rimac the electric arm of VW and given a seat to Mate Rimac on the board. There are other honest ways too, than giving away a 100 year old brand in exchange.

Bugatti, means exclusivity and it is a time tested halo brand. The purpose of the brand was to make hypercars which showcased industry leading innovation and sophistication. I had read a joke long time ago that "One buys a Bentley cause they didn't have enough money to buy a Bugatti"

Please don't get me wrong, its a great validation to Rimac and the work they have put it. I am just wondering what led VW to take such a decision. Its just beyond me at the moment.

[Sahil]

Originally Posted by GTO

Akin to Neeta Ambani selling one of her flagship diamond sets to Binny Bansal's wife.

In the era of EVs, cars & their powertrains are going to become commoditised. The main differentiators will be brand + design. IMHO, VW will come to regret this decision in a decade or two.

That analogy!

I think VW will grow Porsche to take that halo crown. Not sure if they will regret the decision, this maybe let them have a more razor sharp focus.
Yes they have lost a jewel but will gain far more from this association especially for the non halo models across all its brands.

And who knows, in the future, VW might entirely buy out Rimac

[no_fear]

Originally Posted by GTO

Would've never imagined a hallowed brand like Bugatti going from a rich owner like VW to a relative unknown like Rimac. It's like Mukesh Ambani selling Antilia to a dot com billionaire like Binny Bansal. Rimac is more in the B2B & OEM business than B2C, I mean how many cars have they even sold? .

Putting on my Class 12 commerce hat, this looks like an off balance sheet item transaction. VAG needs to look good from an financial audit perspective, especially after Dieselgate and it has been pressured by stakeholders to let go of divisions that do not make financial sense. Ducati and Lamborghini were first on the chopping board before sanity prevailed. By spinning off Bugatti with Rimac, VW retains control through Porsche while their balance sheet looks cleaner with less asset / liability. Investors and stakeholders remain happy while general public goes wow on the merging of 2 hypercar brands.

Just my 2 cents

[maddy42]

The comparison to Elon is bound to happen. Is it a smart move only time will tell.

Hats off for Mate Rimac for pulling this off. This looks more like a Accounting Jugglery by Porsche. Move the Buggati brand out of your balance sheet onto Rimacs. That way you have a 24% stake in Rimac and 45% control on the whole group and you let them grow independently.

VW can focus on Porsche and also utilize the expertise of Rimac on their brand. Trickle it down to the rest of VW.

I was rooting for koenigsegg and Christian to blow it out of the park but Rimac has stolen this thunder in the Hypercar world.

Will more diamonds come out of this venture?

Maddy

[Sebring]

VW is setting Rimac after Tesla. If anybody can potentially crush Elon, it's Rimac. VW will be there with their own products at that time, trying to cash in - as the two elephants fight it out. Also, shedding few brands will bolster the damaged balance sheet of the VW group (Looked like they will disappear altogether, after #Dieselgate). Strictly my theory

[v1p3r]

Finally! The Rimac takeover has been at least a year in the making.

Bugatti has been a millstone around the neck of VW. Each car they make loses money, their tech does not trickle down to other brands and models, and now every other 'performance' EV is faster than their superduperhypercars. The writing's on the wall for them - it actually has been for a while.

VW tried what they could with Bugatti. They brought their Italo-German hybrid wunderkind, Stephan Winkelmann, who increased Lamborghini's sales 300% and made it a genuine competitor to Ferrari. Nothing worked, and Diess has been reasonably vocal about getting rid of the brand. They've made some claims about Bugatti being profitable this year and the last, but I would take those with a bucket of Alsace's finest salt.

This move, structured as a share swap, will make sure VAG's embrace of Mate Rimac and his avante-garde next-gen technology gets tighter. Unlike quad turbo W16s, EV tech such as well-designed regen algorithms and BMS can actually be cascaded down to regular commuter vehicles, which is their bread and butter. This is also VAG's hedge against MB-Tesla. And no_fear isn't far off - the balance sheet looks much better now.

Full credit to Mate and his team - owning one of the most storied brands in the world at 33 is a stupendous achievement. Almost makes me wish I'd taken up the job in Croatia.

[SnS_12]

The COVID-19 pandemic has dealt VW an immense blow.

Following a 23% drop in sales, the company reported a pre-tax loss of €1.4bn (£1.3bn) for the first six months of 2020, compared with a profit of €9.6bn (£8.8bn) in same period in 2019.

With net debt of around €162bn (£148bn) in 2020, it is the world's most indebted company, at a time when it is needing to invest billions of euros in developing electric and driverless vehicles.

Dr Piech (former Volkswagen Group chairman) did more than anyone to make Bugatti a success and which he described as his "favourite toy".

But in the current times VW needs to spend every penny carefully and a "hobby brand", as Bugatti was no longer seen in some parts of VW as a priority anymore. Despite sticker prices in the millions, the storied brand chronically lost money and hence Oliver Blume, the chief executive of Porsche, acknowledged that the deal removes a distraction for Volkswagen and allows the company to focus on more important tasks. Those include shifting to production of electric vehicles and overcoming the effects of an emissions scandal.

Source - https://news.sky.com/story/bugatti-s...or-vw-12074212