Case Study
Rimac Automobili is a Croatian car manufacturer headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, Croatia, that develops and produces electric sports cars, drivetrains, and battery systems. The company was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac. Rimac Automobili's first model, the Concept One, was the world's fastest-production electric vehicle.
While manufacturing and marketing high-performance vehicles under its brand, Rimac also develops and produces battery packs, drivetrain systems, and vehicles for other companies. The Applus+ IDIADA Volar-E is an example of a product developed for another company. During the 88th Geneva International Motor Show in March 2018, the company unveiled its second model, the Rimac Nevera.
The groundwork for the company was laid in 2007 as a hobby garage activity of Mate Rimac. Working on his own, he converted his BMW 3 Series (E30) to incorporate an electric powertrain and subsequently gained attention from the press and investors. A significant part of the early financing came from angel investors and the sale of proprietary patents.
Rimac Automobili was founded in 2009 in Sveta Nedelja, near Zagreb, Croatia, where suitable facilities were rented. When he was 19 years old, Mate Rimac began converting an E30-M3 which served as his first test mule: "I owned an old BMW E30 (MY 1984), which I used for drifting, and circuit races. At one of these races, the gas engine suddenly blew up. At that moment, I decided to try building an EV. After one year or so, the car could drive, but I was not yet satisfied with the result. It was heavy, not very powerful, and the range was minimal. For this reason, I started to gather a team of experts to develop our components since I believed that electric propulsion could give much more than what was available on the market. I already had a clear vision of my ultimate goal at that time. Today, hard work is making my dream come true."
In 2018, VolkswagenGroup subsidiary Porsche Engineering Group GmbH acquired a 10% stake in Rimac to form a development partnership as part of its electrification process. Mate Rimac commented: "This partnership now is an important step for Rimac on our way to becoming a component and system supplier of choice for the industry in electrification, connectivity, and the exciting field of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems". Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors jointly invested €80 million in 2019, and announced plans "to collaborate on the development of high-performance electric vehicles. In 2020, Rimac recommended Infinium, the largest Balkan software and design company, to Porsche, which led to the creation of a joint venture Porsche Digital Croatia with an investment of €10 million.
In July 2021, VW Group's Porsche and Rimac announced that they have agreed to create a joint venture incorporating Volkswagen's high-performance Bugatti brand and Rimac Automobili. The new venture will be called Bugatti Rimac. Parent company Rimac Group will have a 55% stake in the joint venture, while Porsche will hold a 45% stake. In June of that year, Porsche stated it was one of the participants in a new €500 million round of fundraising.
Rimac Technology is 100% owned by the Rimac Group. Rimac Technology develops vehicle systems and technologies for many global OEMs. Wikipedia
Key Take-Aways
green business
story of a success
electric cars
entrepreneur
Learning Outcome
Finishing this part young learners will be able to gain knowledge about a successful entrepreneur in the green sector. Youngsters can see great possibilities in the green sector, as with Rimac automobile’s own words:” Making the future exicting. The original idea was to create the most powerful (electric) hypercar. However, the technology we needed didn't exist yet, and the systems that were available simply weren't available to us an automotive startup back in 2009. It was clear we had to create everything ourselves. Ever since, we've been growing the talent, and core competencies in-house.”Rimac Automobili.
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https://www.rimac-automobili.com/
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TEL: +38515634592
