Porsche partners with Croatian startup to take over Bugatti

Volkswagen's premium brand Porsche and Croatian electric car startup have agreed to build a joint venture in late 2021 which will incorporate iconic French hypercar manufacturer Bugatti.

Volkswagen will bring Bugatti, also its subsidiary, into the new partnership and its shares will be transferred to Porsche, said Porsche late on Monday.

Rimac will hold a 55 percent stake in the joint venture, Bugatti Rimac, and Porsche will hold the rest. The joint venture's financial details were not given. Porsche holds a 24 percent stake in Rimac.

Oliver Blume, chairman of the executive board at Porsche AG, said "We are combining Bugatti's strong expertise in the hyper sports car business with Rimac's tremendous innovative strength in the highly promising field of electric mobility."

Established in 2009, Rimac has unveiled its Nevera model, which has an ability to leap to zero to 100 km/hour in less than 2 seconds. The Nevera is expected to be the fastest sports car ever made, a title previously held by the Bugatti Chiron.

"Bugatti stands for fantastic, iconic products. Rimac for big experience and innovation of electric components and is already developing electric hypercar which will be sold for customers in the second half of the year," said Blume.

The joint venture, which will be in Croatia, will develop the future of both Bugatti and Rimac vehicles, by joining resources and expertise in research and development, production, and other areas, said Rimac.

Porsche said the joint venture will initially produce two hypercar models: the Bugatti Chiron and the all-electric Rimac Nevera. Jointly developed Bugatti models are planned in the longer term, said Porsche.

However, Bugatti and Rimac will both continue as separate respective brands, retaining existing production facilities and distribution channels.

"We are of course focused on the products and want to make amazing new products… not just continue Bugatti, but let's say make it into something even more exciting and make sure it's profitable," said Mate Rimac, founder of Rimac.

Bugatti has a history of losing money despite its pricey models that could sell for up to $10 million.

"It's the only way to develop Bugatti for a profitable future," Lutz Meschke, the chief financial officer of Porsche, said of the joint venture.

Although Porsche has a 45 percent stake in the joint venture, it will not produce Porsche cars "because Porsche has its own business", said Blume.

"Porsche has got a very clear electrification strategy, and our goal is that by 2025, 50 percent of our new deliveries will be fully electrified or hybrid models and by 2030 over 80 percent," said Blume.

Besides Porsche, Rimac's other investors include Hyundai and Chinese company Camel Group.

Rimac has a joint venture with Camel in Hubei province, which develops and produces axels and electric powertrains for the Chinese market.