March the 10th, 2021 - Croatian innovator Mate Rimac has showcased one of his first interesting projects, looking back at his humble yet always impressive beginnings as Porsche invests another huge amount of money into the Sveta Nedelja-based company.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, after news broke recently that the German car giant Porsche had increased its already substantial investment in Rimac Automobili, increasing its stake in the company to 24 percent, innovator Mate Rimac took to Facebook to look back at one of his much earlier projects.

¨Once upon a time, during an interview, they asked me if we were working on autonomous driving. Back then I said that we had already made one self-driving car. At the beginning of the company´s creation, we came up with various prototypes for other companies and in that way we survived. We undertook some crazy projects that others couldn’t or didn’t want to do. We were mostly bound by confidentiality agreements, but in this case the contracts have since expired and the project has long been irrelevant so I decided to share the story of that famous self-driving car here.

Back in 2013, when there were about 10 of us working at the company, and we started working for a large German company. They told us their vision of the future - orally, without any specifications. I have to admit that before that project I thought autonomous driving was uninteresting and I didn’t think about the concept of mobility as a service. The customer wanted us to develop and build a prototype based on their idea. The catch was that we have to do all this within 90 days because otherwise their budget reservation for the project would fail and go to the "second box office" (which is big corporate language for "we will not pay you if you do not do something that is almost impossible").

90 days of work day and night on a completely new vehicle concept with a completely different principle of steering and drive (eg 3 in-wheel engines that were also used to "straighten" up the vehicle). Yes, it is a real vehicle and I drove to Samobor once in it.

The aim was to show what the future of mobility might look like. The car of course did not drive autonomously but had a joystick to control it between the seats (drive / steer / brake by wire) and remotely for the purposes of a demonstration video. Given the budget, time, knowledge and size of the team we had at our disposal, this is something I´m still proud of to this day and it opened my eyes in terms of which direction the future of individual mobility should or could go.

We also had the concept of "nice" performance (with a "real" exterior design - not a "pipe" with pipes, but there was no time or money for that). We survived doing such things back at the beginning. We went down to the wire and were often late with our commitments, but we managed to survive. Today, companies with less than this prototype raise hundreds of millions of euros in funding, but it was a different time back then. As little as 8 years may seem, in fact, at least in our industry, everything has completely changed.

By the way, there have been a bunch of other similar projects and I might show you some of them - of course the ones I can show today without making our customers then or now angry. Thanks to everyone who participated in creating this insane device.¨

For more on innovator Mate Rimac and other Croatian entrepreneurs, follow Made in Croatia.

March the 8th, 2021 - Porsche has decided to invest a further 70 million euros into the Croatian Rimac Automobili company, owned by Livno-born entrepreneur Mate Rimac.

As Ivan Luzar/Telegram writes, Porsche has invested an additional 70 million euros in Croatian Rimac Automobili, taking Porsche's stake in the company up to 24 percent. The news of this additional investment was somewhat expected, as last week we wrote about a potential 130 to 150 million euro investment from the giant company. The same was said by the founder of Rimac Automobili, Mate Rimac to the German automotive magazine Automobilwoche.

Rimac Automobili has as such reached a value of 795 million euros, or 947 million US dollars, writes Reuters. Last week, the Croatian Rimac Automobili commented on the news of the increase in Porsche's share in the company headquartered in Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb, thus confirming that the German company was set to increase its share, but that Rimac Automobili will still remain independent. Then, as now, they still have not commented on the news of the possible takeover of Bugatti, which has been talked about for months.

Porsche invested for the first time back in 2018

Porsche invested in Rimac Automobili back in 2018, when they took over a 10 percent stake in the company, and just a year later, they increased that stake to 15 percent. Now, two years later, Porsche has bought an additional 8.8 percent for the aforementioned 70 million euros.

"Rimac is well positioned for the production of prototypes and cars in small series. Rimac Automobili is on its way to becoming one of the main suppliers for Porsche, but also other manufacturers in the high-tech segment of the automotive industry,” said Porsche CFO Lutz Meschke.

Since back in 2018, when Porsche first invested, Rimac has almost doubled its number of employees to a thousand. They have also undertaken various collaborations in the automotive industry, such as the one(s) with Hyundai, Kia and Aston Martin.

Rimac: "The amount of the investment is not a priority"

Mate Rimac commented on Porsche's new investment on his Facebook profile: 

Can there be a better confirmation of a successful partnership than 3 separate investments within 4 years?

Getting Porsche initially on-board was extremely important for us. Having confirmed that they did the right thing and that we have earned Porsche’s trust, makes us very proud.

This 70M Euro investment is part of our long-term strategic collaboration, where different aspects of strategic collaboration can be expected in the future. The valuation and amount raised are not the priority in this deal. We are working on some other transactions that will reflect the market value of Rimac as a company.

We are all excited to see the fruits of this ever-deeper cooperation.

For more on Rimac and Croatian entrepreneurship and companies, follow Made in Croatia.

March the 2nd, 2021 - Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac keeps going from strength to strength when it comes to doing business responsibly and succeeding on the tricky investment front, going as far as to attract automotive giants like Porsche once again.

Rimac Automobili is a company that has done much more than just put Croatia on the automotive map, which is no small feat at all, but Livno-born Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac has shown that it is very possible to succeed and do well in Croatia if enough effort and know-how are employed.

Attracting investments left, right and centre, the always smiling protagonist of this shining Croatian business story even taught the Croatian Government a thing or two about how to attract massive investments from huge companies and as such bring the automotive industry within Croatia's borders.

As Novac writes, no less than Porsche should participate in a new round of financing for entrepreneur Mate Rimac's impressive company Rimac Automobili, in which the company should raise an additional 130 to 150 million euros, the company's founder Mate Rimac told the German publication Automobilwoche.

The funding should be completed in two to three months, and another round of funding is planned by the end of the year, entrepreneur Mate Rimac explained.

Porsche currently holds a 15.5 percent stake in Rimac Automobili, and that Porsche owned stake could increase to just under 50 percent in an agreement under which Rimac would take over Volkswagen's luxury brand Bugatti, about which we recently wrote.

Rimac Automobili, as well as Volkswagen, have not yet commented on this matter and this article will be updated as comments come out.

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February the 22nd, 2021 - Rimac Automobili, owned by Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, has gone from strength to strength and it seems as if that run is far from over.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Bugatti and the Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac are becoming closer than ever in their relations, with a company takeover from Rimac seeming closer to coming to fruition than ever.

"At the moment, we're thinking intensively about how to ensure the development of Bugatti in the best possible way. Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac could play a significant role in all of that because the two brands fit very well in a technological sense,'' Porsche's Oliver Blume told Automobilwoche.

The Croatian company Rimac Automobili and Volkswagen's supercar brand Bugatti are a fantastic couple in terms of technology, said Oliver Blume, Porsche's director for German Automobilwoche, Reuters reports. The statement reawakened hope that Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac's beloved company could indeed take over the gigantic Bugatti, which has, as Telegram writes, been being talked about for several months now and would mean an enormous amount for Croatia's place on the car map.

Namely, back in September last year, the British portal CarMagazine announced that the Volkswagen Group would hand over Bugatti to Rimac Automobili, in exchange for increasing Porsche's share in Rimac's impressive company headquartered in Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb.

Volkswagen is also the owner of the Porsche brand, which has acquired a 15.5 percent stake in the Croatian company over the years. Back in 2018, they bought a 10 percent stake, and a year later they purchased another 5.5 percent of it. Britain's CarMagazine then claimed that VW's management intended to increase that share to a significantly higher 49 percent.

“There are different scenarios with different structures that we're looking into. I believe that a decision on this issue will be made in the first half of this year,'' noted Oliver Blume.

For more on Mate Rimac, follow our dedicated section.

February 16, 2021 – In an admiring new business profile, the most prestigious of British broadcasters looks at Croatian car innovator Mate Rimac BBC comparing him to Tesla's Elon Musk.

In an admiring new business profile, the most prestigious of British broadcasters looks at Croatian car innovator Mate Rimac BBC comparing him to Tesla's Elon Musk.

The Mate Rimac BBC profile is titled 'The hypercar maker who was told to give up his dream' and was published earlier today, Tuesday 16 February 2021. In the article, which is part business profile and part a personality profile on Mate Rimac BBC journalist and business correspondent Theo Leggett describes Rimac automobiles as “some of the most exotic machines on the planet”.

The BBC profile of Mate Rimac and his Rimac Automobili company, from earlier today © BBC screenshot

Direct quotes from the Mate Rimac BBC profile

“Rimac Automobili is best known for building ultra-exclusive electric hypercars,” says Mate Rimac BBC profile writer Mr Leggett.

“The Concept One, first unveiled in 2011, had a top speed of 354km/h (220mph). Only eight were ever made - and one was famously destroyed when the TV presenter Richard Hammond careered off the road during a competition in Switzerland.”

“Its successor the C_Two is even more extreme with a claimed top speed of 415km/h (258mph); able to accelerate from 0-97km/h (60mph) in 1.85 seconds. Due to go on sale this year, it's expected to have a price tag of €2m ($2.4m; £1.8m).”

The rimac C_Two © Branko Radovanović

“The cars are by any normal measure extraordinary. But they form only one part of Rimac's business model. Increasingly the company is setting itself up as a technology supplier to other manufacturers, to help them build their own high-performance electric cars.”

Alongside the obvious similarity of them both building electric cars, it is this expansion of the company's field of vision that prompts the Mate Rimac BBC profile journalist to compare the Croat to Tesla's Elon Musk.

Further along in the Mate Rimac BBC profile, the journalist interviews David Bailey, professor of industrial strategy at Birmingham University.

"Mate Rimac is seen as a real disruptor," says Professor Bailey. "His company has come from absolutely nowhere, their products are really exciting - and they've developed a brand round the hypercars."

January 27, 2021 - Croatia has a number of fabulous and untapped unique tourism experiences, among them the Rimac tour in Sveta Nedelja. 

I will confess that I wasn't 100% sure who he was when I first met Mate Rimac a few years ago on the Nikola Tesla EV Rally in Porec. Something to do with cool electric cars, I had been told. And then I saw the Concept One.

Rather embarrassingly, young Rimac had heard of me and was very complimentary about TCN. Having recognised what a legend the boy was, I managed to get that all-important selfie, and it was only after sharing that on Facebook that I realised what a legend he  was when many people from my past who I had not heard from in years started messaging me:

"Is that you and Rimac? Do you actually know him?"

And no, I don't really know him. We have met briefly 3-4 times briefly and always exchanged a laugh. He comments occasionally on my wall (mostly about posts on Del Boy and Rodney, funnily enough), but the more I have followed the Rimac story, the more I appreciate what he does for Brand Croatia, and what an asset he is for the country's tourism. 

And I had come to that conclusion even before the release of THAT video about living and working in Croatia.

And it turns out that Rimac Automobili offer their own unique tourism experience to visitors to Croatia, one which makes for an excellent day trip out of Zagreb, to the company's headquarters in Sveta Nedelja, about 25 minutes from Zagreb city centre.  

Rimac has kept things very local despite his rapid expansion, and the company is very much at home in the town named the best for the economy for the last three years running. 

I had the chance to finally visit the factory where all the magic a few months ago, and I was delighted to learn that there is an officially organised Rimac tour for car enthusiasts.  

Details of the tour are in detail below, but I really liked the reception area where it all began, including a fascinating timeline of where it all started, and where it is today. young Mate looking more like Del Boy back in 2006 as a high school student winning national and international awards for innovation with the iGlove, before moving on to 'the Garage Phase' with his beat-up 1984 BMW E30.  

2011 must have been quite a year - from setting world records to the launch of the prototype of Concept_One as the world's first all-electric hypercar at the Frankfurt Motor Show. 

And so the years rolled by, with a growing team and increased success and international recognition.  

The history of the company is beautifully recorded in this timeline, but that is only part of the fascinating tour, which needs to be booked in advance (and I suspect may not be currently available due to coronavirus restrictions).  

The standard tour costs 225 kuna (30 euro - 10 euro for students), with a 50 euro premium tour including a test ride with the revolutionary Greyp bikes. Sadly, a ride in the Concept_One or C_Two is reserved for customers only. 

But here is what the tour includes, with photos from the official Rimac site - photography on the tour itself is restricted.  

History

Walk down the history line and meet the iconic Concept_One, our technology in other hypercars and our next generation, the C_Two.

Machining

Explore of the process of various raw materials turning into molds that go further in the process or into finished parts used in the components or vehicle assembly.

Composites

Learn about different composites used in hypercar production as well as the steps taken from mold preparation to a finished part.

Paintshop

Grasp the complexity of our painting process and various methods used to create state-of-the-art hypercars.

Prototype Assembly

Watch all the parts come together in our prototype assembly area.

Engineering

Meet the team behind the world's most advanced electric hypercars and EV technology, the brain of the operation.

One of my favourite questions in the tour FAQ is:

CAN WE HAVE A CHAT WITH MATE RIMAC?

Due to Mate’s busy schedule we can’t promise you will have a chance to meet him. Maybe, you will have a chance to see him working with some of our engineers or technicians.

Should corona not be an issue, tours are generally available Monday to Friday from 10:00 - 13:00. You are advised to check everything in advance in these uncertain times on the Rimac tour dedicated page.

And while you are there, why not make a day of it in Sveta Nedelja. The nature is beautiful and the lakes are magical. Check out the official promo video from the Sveta Nedelja Tourist Board. 

For the latest from Rimac and Sveta Nedelja, follow the TCN Rimac and Sveta Nedelja sections. 

January 19, 2021 - While some leaders have social media accounts suspending for allegedly inciting violence, others use it as an effective tool to engage with their audience, leaders such as the man behind the Rimac C_Two.

This has to be one of the coolest maps featuring Croatia that I have ever seen. 

A map of global car dealerships for Croatia's only car producer. There are more global dealerships for Rimac Automobilii than the number of cars that the company has ever produced. Think about that for the moment. 

And even though the number of dealerships is growing, this will not be the case for long, as the Rimac C_Two goes into production. 

The map was posted by CEO Mate Rimac on his latest Facebook post yesterday. In an age where leaders are being banned for allegedly inciting violence, Rimac uses the tool extremely effectively to update people on progress, as well as to clear up misconceptions and misunderstandings, as is the case in his latest post, which is published in full below.

You can follow Mate Rimac on Facebook.

Something I wanted to clear up for a long time. During an interview with our Head of Sales a couple of years ago, a journalist misinterpreted (mistakenly or not) that the C_Two is sold out. That was not the case and still isn't, but has been repeated in many articles as a fact.

While it is not unusual for hypercars to be sold-out before they go into production, that is usually only the case for established brands, like Ferrari. The C_Two has many 'firsts' - first all-electric-hypercar (globally homologated), first series-production car of Rimac (a new and still relatively unknown brand) etc. It is a completely new market (there are no competitors in production yet) and nobody knows how customers will really react. Customers are very interested in the car but want to see how things play out - they want to try it before committing and see reviews. We are fully in line with that and have never pushed customers to commit before trying the car. There are, of course, many who trusted us enough and liked the car so much to pay a deposit very early on.

For the latest in the Rimac story, follow the dedicated TCN section.

January 18, 2021 - Rimac Automobili has announced that they are advancing towards the C_Two series production this year.

Index.hr reports that the pre-series production phase began in December.

"Eyes on the future. With the start of the pre-series vehicle production in December, we are advancing towards the series production of the C_Two in 2021. The pre-series cars will have a fit and finish, drivability, and reliability that is nearly production-ready. They will be used for further minor tweaks, homologation tests, durability tests, trim experimentation, NVH tweaking, and global product evaluation. It’s an important year ahead of us. We appreciate your support every step of the way!" Rimac announced on Facebook on January 2, 2021. 

"Walking around here and finally, after ten years of blood, sweat, and tears, seeing it all come together - what a feeling. Pre-series production ramping up and getting ready for customer cars," Mate Rimac revealed on his personal Facebook account on Thursday, January 14. 

Mate Rimac wrote on Facebook that he would produce numerous cars in this line this year if everything goes according to plan.

The assembly of each C_Two car will take approximately five weeks, halving the production time compared to the principle of static production outside the production line, used by some other supersport car manufacturers. The new process at full capacity will enable the construction of four final production vehicles per month.

However, at Rimac, the production process begins before the assembly of finished components on the line, since many components and systems are produced in the factory in Sveta Nedelja and Veliko Trgovišće, after which it is delivered to the vehicle assembly line.

The new production line is divided into five main zones. It begins with the attachment of all brackets and attachment points to the vehicle's carbon construction - the so-called monocoque chassis. The two technicians at each subsequent station then proceed to assemble the car piece by piece. Subassemblies such as the powertrain, dashboard or front radiator, and other parts are manufactured and prepared off-line, as part of Rimac Automobili's production facilities. They are delivered complete for installation on the vehicle assembly line.

The complete homologation process without any shortcuts, from the first concepts, through complete prototypes to cars on the road, is a three-year process. With the introduction of the new production line, Rimac Automobili will deliver the first cars to customers in 2021, unlike the original plan before the COVID-19 crisis, which foresaw deliveries in 2020. The final design and name of the vehicle will be revealed this year.

The German TV channel Welt also made a documentary about the origin of the model.

"We're working hard to design the car the way we envisioned it - a new type of hypercar that provides extreme electric drive performance and a new driving experience for the driver. At the same time, it will be a technical masterpiece from an engineering point of view. C_Two will have a new driving experience, high communicative handling, and first-class dynamics that will define our new car. We want this car to be intuitive and usable, but at the same time, sharp and capable. The testing and tuning process is crucial to ensure that our promises are met. Driving the C_Two will be something completely different," said Rimac.

To read more about business in Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December 15, 2020 – Young Croatian innovator from Samobor Matija Hržić won third place for his innovation Smart bee scale at the Fair of Innovations and Entrepreneurship in Sarajevo.

As Večernji list reports, after conquering the ARCA international exhibition. together with colleagues Lovro Stipanović and Josip Oroz, young Samobor innovator Matija Hržić won third place and the Special Award "Sarajevo 2020" in Sarajevo at the first virtual Fair of Innovations and Entrepreneurship "Sarajevo 2020".

His mentor was a teacher at the Vocational High School Samobor and innovator Ivan Vlainić. The award was presented to him by Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, who was also one of Vlainić's students.

Almost two decades ago, professor Ivan Vlainić encouraged Rimac to apply for the first student competition, which he won. A few months ago, he also encouraged Matija Hržić to apply for the Innovation Entrepreneurship Fair "Sarajevo 2020".

Thanks to the award, Hržić's innovation Smart bee scale will bear the International Federation of Inventors' Associations' logo, better known by the acronym IFIA.

What exactly is a smart bee scale? Namely, beehives are often a hundred kilometers away from the beekeepers' residence, making it impossible to monitor them regularly. The scale is therefore equipped with many sensors. Thus, by placing the hive on the scale and implementing its sensors inside the hive, all important data can be available to the beekeeper in real-time. Therefore, the beekeeper can act on time and apply solutions to the observed problems in order to potentially prevent swarming, starvation, or death of his bee community.

Matija was one of the 36 innovators who competed at the Sarajevo 2020 Fair. From one of the best-equipped exercise laboratories in Croatia, Matija's presentation was followed live by students of his Vocational High School and cheered for his best placement.

Matija's innovation was exhibited at the Vocational High School in Samobor, which was also attended by Matija and Mate. Today, many students pass by it who, in addition to professors Ivan and Mate, now have another role model.

To read more news about Croatia, follow TCN's dedicated page.

December the 14th, 2020 - Croatian entreprener Mate Rimac, who is by far the perfect example that with enough grit and effort, you can succeed here in Croatia, has attracted yet more new investors from different parts of the globe.

The ongoing coronavirus pandemic has seen many a previously planned investment grind to a halt, be put on pause for better days or simply be thrown in the bin. Mate Rimac, however, has continued to attract attention in terms of investment. Rimac has done the impossible in many ways, but by far the most surprising move he has made of late is managing to gain the attention of some of the giants of the automotive world. The idea of a Croatian automotive industry was unthinkable not so long ago, and for many it still is, but Rimac has managed to make the idea at least conceivable.

It shouldn't be surprising, when looking at his rather remarkable record, that this man of many talents is continuing to attract investor attention even during these unprecedented and extremely difficult times.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, about ten days ago, new investors entered the ownership structure of Rimac Automobili, according to a report from Lider. According to information from the court register, Neurone R SA from Luxembourg is registered as a new member of Mate Rimac's wildly successful company headquartered in Sveta Nedelja, while the investor from Abu Dhabi, Ziad Tassabehji, who was otherwise one of Mate Rimac's first investors back in 2014, left the ownership, ie he is no longer registered as a member.

Back at the beginning of October, KINGRICH INVESTMENTS LIMITED from Hong Kong also entered the ownership structure of Rimac Automobil, while at the end of September, China Dynamics (Holdings) Limited left the ownership structure.

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