Porsche Buys Stake in Electric Car Startup Rimac

author: Eric Walz   

Porsche AG has invested in electric sports car company Rimac Automobili by taking a minority stake of 10 percent. Rimac develops and produces electric vehicle components and manufactures an electric supercar—the C Two. As part of its electrification efforts, Porsche is seeking a development partnership with the startup company.

In February, Porsche said it is doubling investment in electromobility to more than 6 billion euros ($7.5 billion) by 2022, focusing on both plug-in hybrids and purely electric vehicles.

Porsche is releasing its first electric sedan next year, the Taycan. The all-electric sedan is expected to compete directly with the Tesla Model S.

Rimac was founded in 2009 by Mate Rimac working out of his garage. Rimac's vision was to create a electric sports car that could both be fast and offer driving excitement, something that Porsche is experienced in.

"We feel that Rimac's ideas and approaches are extremely promising, which is why we hope to enter into close collaboration with the company in the form of a development partnership." said  Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche.

Rimac recently presented the latest version of its electric hypercar, the "C Two", at the Geneva Motor Show in March 2018. The two-seater produces around 2,000 hp and reaches a top speed of 412 kilometres (256 miles) per hour.

The C Two has a range of 650 kilometres (400 miles) (NEDC Cycle), and achieves an 80% battery charge in 30 minutes through a 250 kW fast charging system. The company engineers and manufactures high-performance electric vehicle powertrain systems and battery systems.

"By developing the purely electric two-seaters super sports cars, like the ‘Concept One' or ‘C Two', as well as core vehicle systems, Rimac has impressively demonstrated its credentials in the field of electromobility", Meschke added.

The fast-growing Croatian-based company employs about 400 employees. Rimac's main focus is on high-voltage battery technology, electric powertrains and the development of  human machine interfaces (HMI Development).

Rimac also develops and produces e-bikes under its subsidiary Greyp Bikes, which was founded in 2013. Another important part of its business is engineering and high-end components for other automakers, including Renault, Aston Martin, and Jaguar.

"This partnership now is an important step for Rimac on our way to become a component and system supplier of choice for the industry in electrification, connectivity and the exciting field of Advanced Driver Assistance Systems", explains Rimac's CEO Mate Rimac.

The investment in Rimac is comes as Porsche is looking to catch up to the rest of the automotive industry, as well as Tesla, on electrification of its lineup.

Porsche announced in March that full electric and plug-in hybrids will account for about 25% of sales by 2025. The investment in Rimac might help Porsche to reach its goals.

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.