Rimac Group, the Croatian company best known for its 1,900-horsepower Nevera electric sports car, said it has raised 500 million euros (about $537 million) from investors including Goldman SachsPorsche and a technology fund advised by Japan’s SoftBank.
The new funding round values Rimac at more than 2 billion euros.
Rimac made headlines last year when it agreed take control of BugattiThe extremely exclusive French carmaker has long been part of the Volkswagen Group. As part of that deal, the sports car businesses of Bugatti and Rimac are combined in a joint venture between Rimac and VW subsidiary Porsche, with Rimac holding a 55% stake.
This new investment is expected to accelerate Rimac’s evolution away from its roots as a small manufacturer of premium electric sports cars. The company will continue to produce the $2.4 million Nevera through a joint venture with Porsche, as well as a host of new models for Bugatti. But now it plans to focus most of its efforts and most of its new capital on its subsidiary Rimac Technology, which develops and manufactures parts for high-performance electric and hybrid vehicles developed by manufacturers. Other car manufacturers produce.
Rimac technology has attracted a number of big-name automakers’ customers – including Ferrari, HyundaiJaguar, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche and Renault – and previous investments by both Hyundai and Porsche.
Rimac said it will use this new capital to hire 700 new employees, open a series of new offices in Europe and build a new headquarters currently under construction near Zagreb, the Croatian capital.
That new headquarters facility – which includes production space and warehouses as well as offices and laboratories – will be the largest building in Croatia when it is completed next year, CEO Mate Rimac told reporters. reporters during a press conference on Tuesday.
