May 29, 2023 - Known for their unwavering and uncompromising commitment towards excellence, Bugatti and Binghatti – two visionary brands – have unveiled their first collaboration: Bugatti Residences, a ground-breaking real estate development in the heart of Dubai. The project was revealed at the Coca-Cola Arena in Dubai on May 24th, 2023 by Mate Rimac, CEO of Bugatti Rimac, and Muhammad BinGhatti, CEO of Binghatti.

Bugatti Residences by Binghatti – the first-ever Bugatti Residences in the world – is located in the prime area of the Business Bay in Dubai, states the official press release. The collaboration between the two revered brands aims to depict synergies that achieve unparalleled excellence. Drawing upon the rich and diverse creative heritage of both brands, the Bugatti and Binghatti collaboration project has at its nucleus a meticulously designed structure featuring a distinctive façade complemented by intricately designed interiors. With its serene undertones, the hyper-form will juxtapose the city’s bustling energy – a retreat in the heart of the metropolis.

The design of Bugatti Residences reflects the iconic brand elements and luxury design innovations of Bugatti, merging these values cohesively with Binghatti’s expertise in creating a phenomenal architectural masterpiece. Bugatti Residences will feature a collection of 171 Riviera Mansions and 11 Sky Mansion Penthouses, each of them being absolutely unique with bespoke curated layouts. The first Bugatti residence is also designed with peerless luxurious amenities, including a Riviera-inspired beach, private pool, jacuzzi spa, fitness club, chef’s table, private valet, private members club and two garage-to-penthouse car lifts. The residence also features a host of high-end and tailored services dedicated to its residents, including bespoke chauffeur and concierge services.

Unmatched craftsmanship and exquisite finishes that set a new standard for opulence will be at the heart of the living spaces curated for Bugatti Residences, ensuring that the “Art of Living” is reimagined for a contemporary defining era. Both penthouses and mansions offer spacious living areas adorned with the finest material selection the world has to offer. The Bugatti Residences carry a seamless blend of comfort, functionality and elegance that reflect Bugatti and Binghatti’s pre-eminence in design.

The two brands have integrated the distinctive flair of the French Riviera into every aspect of the development. Starting from the very moment of setting foot within the residences, a sense of exuberance takes hold, transporting residents to the inspiring region that has long captured the hearts of connoisseurs of refined living. In the same way that Bugatti has translated the beauty and sophistication of French luxury into the design of its hyper sports cars, Bugatti Residences brings the breeze and feel of the French Riviera into this private oasis. In its organically sculpted design, Bugatti Residences by Binghatti manifests the beauty of the Riviera’s spirit and flair.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated Lifestyle section.

August the 30th, 2022 - Kreso Coric, the sales director for Mate Rimac's company Rimac Automobili and the man responsible for naming the stunning Nevera, has stepped down from his position.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes, Kreso Coric came up with the name for Rimac's remarkable electric hypercar after developing a set of colours for the exterior and interior. Everything, according to Coric, started with ''Nevera Blue''.

Kreso Coric has held one of the most important positions within Rimac Automobili since the beginning of 2016, where he arrived after working as a business development manager at a company called Double A. Prior to that, he was regional marketing manager at Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy. Since July 2021, he has been the chief commercial director of the Milanese company Zagato, and since November of the same year he has been the chief executive officer of the Croatian company Quantum Solace Consulting, Lider reports.

''What a jouney this has been. I've been here almost seven years, but it feels like I joined just a few weeks ago. I remember when Monika Mikac invited me for the first informal conversation (which honestly was more like a chat) back in 2015 about the sales position at Rimac Automobili. Without any expectations, I was given the opportunity to manage sales and everything related to it. I had zero contacts and zero knowledge about the world of cars.

Many people in the office looked down on me with derision and continuously undermined my activities. However, I overcame all that and succeeded with the support of many good people in the company, as well as my partners - I cannot thank them enough,'' Kreso Coric explained in his announcement.

''It's sad. But sometimes moving on with life starts with saying goodbye. The time has come for me to say goodbye to the Bugatti Rimac team, to all the wonderful people there, after almost seven years as Global Head of Sales. I think goodbyes are sad, so I would like to say hello and open my arms to a new adventure, so buckle up,'' Kreso Coric concluded his post.

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

ZAGREB, 1 Jan 2021 - The rebound from the corona crisis, the country's improved credit rating as well as a rise in inflation marked the economic trends in Croatia in 2021.

After 2020, which will be remembered for efforts to curb the COVID-19 pandemic and for the devastating quakes that hit the capital city of Zagreb on 22 March and Sisak-Moslavina County on 28 and 29 December, the outgoing year has been marked by a high growth rate.

In 2020, the economy contracted by 8% and it is set to have rebounded at a rate of 8.1% in 2021, according to the European Commission's forecasts, while the Fitch rating agency forecasts Croatia's recovery at a rate of 8.9% in 2021.

In mid-December, analysts of four major commercial banks presented projections of Croatia's growth at a rate of 9.5%, and the Croatian National Bank projects a 10.8% recovery.

Croatia's credit rating reaches a record high

On 13 November, Fitch upgraded Croatia's rating from BBB- to BBB, the best in Croatia's history, with a positive outlook.

Fitch expects "Croatia to be in a position to join the euro in January 2023 due to its significant progress in meeting convergence and structural reform criteria, despite the pandemic shock, and political support at the wider eurozone level for Croatia's membership."

The euro adoption will support Croatia's rating, "as it would provide the sovereign with reserve currency status, reduce transaction costs and limit exchange rate risk to corporate and household balance sheets."

Commenting on this improvement, Finance Minister Zdravko Marić recalled that the credit rating is important for the price of borrowing for the state, businesses, and citizens as its upgrade lowers the risk premium, which has a favorable effect on the price of capital.

Increasing inflation

Last year was marked by an acceleration in inflation rates.

At the beginning of 2021, inflation was moderate, however, it stepped up in the autumn and November saw 4.8%, a record high rate since February 2013, with analysts projecting that the inflation rate in December is set to have exceeded 5%.

In the EU, record-high inflation rates of 9.3%, 8.6%, and 7.5% were registered in Lithuania, Estonia, and Hungary, respectively, in November.

In Croatia, November's inflation rate was fueled by a 12.9% rise in transport prices, which was spurred by a 26.6% annual increase in fuel prices.

In mid-November, Marić said that that effect was not surprising given all the circumstances, primarily on the global level. However, the overall inflation rate in Croatia is not deviating from the EU average, which is good, he added.

According to Eurostat, the European Union's statistical office, the EU inflation in November reached 5.2% and the euro area registered a 4.9% inflation.

The Maastricht criteria concerning price stability envisage that a euro-area aspirant's inflation rate cannot be higher than 1.5 percentage points above the rate of the three best-performing member states.

The Andrej Plenković cabinet forecast an inflation rate of 2.5% both in 2021 and 2022.

Tourist trade again pulls the economy from the lows

In 2021, the pandemic-hit economy bounced back thanks to trends in the tourism sector.

Both the financial and physical indicators hint at a successful season.

From 1 January to 20 December 2021, tourist turnover was equivalent to 77% of the tourist trade in the pre-pandemic 2019.

Fiscalised receipts in this sector reached 85% of the value registered in the corresponding period in 2019.

Rimac takes over Bugatti

In July, Rimac Automobili, the Croatian carmaker based in Sveta Nedelja west of Zagreb, acquired Bugatti.

The Rimac Automobili company has decided to combine forces with the automotive brand Bugatti Automobiles "to create a new automotive and technological powerhouse" called Bugatti Rimac d.o.o. (in English – LLC), the Croatian company reported on 5 July.

As part of the deal, the newly-formed Rimac Group has become the majority shareholder with a 55% stake.

Croatia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan

The government drafted Croatia's National Recovery and Resilience Plan (NRRP) which consists of 77 reforms and 152 investment plans. Croatia's 2021-2026 NRRP was formally adopted by the EU in July.

Under the EU Recovery and Resilience Facility (RRF), Croatia has €6.3 billion in grants and 3.6 billion in favorable loans at its disposal.

Croatia plans to set aside 40.3% of that money for climate targets and 20.4% for digital transformation. A large part will go for post-earthquake reconstruction.

On 28 September, the European Commission disbursed €818 million to Croatia in a pre-financing payment under the RRF, and that was equivalent to 13% of the country's total financial allocation under the RRF.

The pre-financing payment will help to kick-start the implementation of crucial investment and reform measures outlined in Croatia's NRRP.

The implementation of the NRRP is expected to contribute 1.4 percentage points to Croatia's GDP growth in 2022 and as much in 2023.

Pelješac Bridge built

In late July, Pelješac Bridge was fully joined together, with the installation of the last, 165th segment of its steel span, and it now stretches from Komarna on the coast to Brijesta on the peninsula of Pelješac.

The 2,440-metre bridge has 13 spans, of which the five central spans are each 285 meters long, six 33-meter-high centrally installed pylons made of reinforced concrete, and two lanes, plus a hard shoulder for bridge maintenance.

The navigation profile under the bridge is 200 by 55 meters.

The bridge was designed by Marjan Pipenbaher and built by the China Road and Bridge Corporation. The Chinese company was awarded the job in 2018, offering a price of HRK 2.081 billion, not including VAT, and a completion deadline of 36 months.

Work on the bridge officially started on 31 July 2018.

The bridge and its access roads are expected to be opened to traffic in June 2022, before the start of the peak tourist season.

The decision on financing the project was made by the government in 2017.

LNG terminal off Krk starts operating

The floating terminal for liquefied natural gas (LNG) on the island of Krk began commercial operations on 1 January when the first LNG tanker, the Tristar Ruby, carrying 143,000 cubic meters of liquefied natural gas arrived at Omišalj, marking the launch of the terminal's commercial operations

The terminal's annual capacity is 2.6 billion cubic meters of gas. All of the terminal's capacity has been leased for the next three years, 80% of its capacity until 2027 and around 50% until 2035.

The floating LNG terminal in Omišalj and the Zlobin-Omišalj pipeline which will deliver LNG to Croatia's gas transport system and consumers was formally inaugurated at a ceremony in late January.

The LNG Croatia project is worth €234 million. In 2017, Croatia signed with the European Commission a grant agreement totaling €101.4 million for the construction of the terminal.

Gas transport operator Plinacro said the terminal and the Zlobin-Omišalj pipeline gave Croatia a new supply route that guaranteed energy stability and gas supply.

A compressor station was built in January 2020 to allow for a two-way flow of gas between Croatia and Hungary. With the reconstruction of the Rogatec-Zabok gas pipeline between Slovenia and Croatia, all requirements were met for delivering gas from the LNG terminal to Central and Eastern Europe and Croatia's gas transport system was integrated into European supply routes.

The LNG Croatia company invested HRK 1.7 billion in the project, while Plinacro invested HRK 430 million.

The 16.7-kilometre-long Zlobin-Omišalj pipeline, completed in mid-November 2020, is worth HRK 430 million, with €16.4 million coming from EU funds.

For more, check out our dedicated business section.

December the 8th, 2021 - Mate Rimac has done more to show the world that it is very much possible to succeed in Croatian entrepreneurship than anyone else. Perhaps Ivan Mrvos comes a close second, but for the automotive world which would never have given the country a second look, what he has done is truly historic.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Zoran Vitas writes, after a joint venture with Bugatti and the creation of the new Rimac Group, Mate Rimac and his dedicated team have a much harder job on their hands in Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb than they did before. When the German Manager Magazine announced that it was considering going public with an expected estimated value of five billion euros, a lot was written about that possibility.

It was even mentioned by Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and a member of the Finance and IT Management Board at Porsche AG. One day an IPO would make sense.

''Mate Rimac must first implement his company's operational plan, but he can count on our support,'' said the leader of the cult German company.

Mate Rimac explained back in November for Automobilwoche what the implementation of such an operational plan means. He was short and clear - profitability. That is, significantly improved profitability.

“At Bugatti Rimac, we're focused on profitability. We don't want to rush, but instead we want to give ourselves time to prepare everything thoroughly. This could be done in 5-10 years,'' said Mate Rimac about the brand with which, realistically, Volkswagen had some trouble.

"It would be easiest to take the Nevera, redesign it and call it Bugatti. But that is absolutely not what we're going to do,'' Rimac repeated. When Bugatti's last Chiron leaves the factory in Molsheim, it will be Bugatti's turn,'' which, as he said during Ursula von der Leyen's visit, makes the most sense.

“Porsche runs on carbon-neutral or even positive fuel because of the way it is produced. In the medium term, it would make the most sense for Bugatti to be a hybrid. It is true that Porsche wanted us to go to electricity immediately, but we said that we'd like to work with petrol engines for some time to come, with a new generator. But that's where I'll stop,'' said the head of Bugatti Rimac, stating that they have been working on the development of the new Bugatti in Croatia for a year now.

"We want to make a profitable company, but we won't recycle anything. We will not redesign the Chiron and thus make a new model, or just hybridise it, we're developing an entirely new product. And that product will still have an internal combustion engine. We're also looking at it in the long run knowing how Bugatti has known diversity throughout history that can be used not only to make hypercars. It's an opportunity to produce different and exciting cars that will be both electric and electrified. We'll have fully electric Bugattis in a decade,'' Mate Rimac said in conversation with the British Top Gear.

For more, check out Made in Croatia.

November 25, 2021 - As part of a busy schedule on his first official visit to Croatia, French President Emmanuel Macron met Mate Rimac in Zagreb, and was introduced to the recently merged Bugatti Rimac, a notorious union between France and Croatia.

After meeting President Milanović and signing the agreement for the sale of 12 Rafale fighter jets, the French president continued with the rest of the activities scheduled for his official visit to Croatia. Along with Andrej Plenković, Emmanuel Macron met Mate Rimac in Zagreb.

As Jutarnji List reports, shortly after 1 p.m., Rimac Group CEO Mate Rimac and Bugatti Rimac Chief Operating Officer Christophe Pichon presented two Nevera and Bugatti cars on the terrace of the Esplanade Hotel to Prime Minister Andrej Plenković and President Emmanuel Macron.

By the way, Bugatti is a French company that recently moved to Zagreb, since they were taken over by the Croatian manufacturer of electric hypercars Mate Rimac.

''It is already somewhat common that the Croatian Government likes to show foreign guests what we are advanced in, so I am glad that they chose us. Especially because we have a lot of employees in France as well'', said Mate Rimac.

The French leader was greeted at the entrance to the Zagreb hotel by the Alkars of Sinj.

''This shows the cooperation between France and Croatia'', said Rimac.

''Bugatti has a 112-year history in Molsheim, France, and we make the fastest petrol cars there, and we make the fastest electric cars in the world here in Zagreb. So it made sense to connect the two'', he added.

Macron and Plenković toured Bugatti's Chiron, a car with more than 1,600 horsepower that is the fastest in the world with a speed of 490 kilometers, and Rimčev Nevera, the car with the fastest acceleration in the world.

President Macron will end his official visit to Croatia with a working lunch at the Esplanade hosted by Prime Minister Plenković, which will be attended by people from the public, economic, cultural, scientific, and sports life that connect Croatia and France.

The coach of all the coaches also arrived for lunch.

''I am not only happy to be here, but also proud and I think that all Croats should be proud because this is one of the greatest European politicians. I hope to talk to him about women'', said Miroslav Ciro Blazevic.

Zlatko Dalic did not want to comment on anything, so Ciro added: "That's because he is an athlete, not a politician."

After lunch, Macron travels to Rome, on official visits to Italy and the Vatican.

For more on politics, follow TCN's dedicated page.

November 2, 2021 - Rimac Automobili today officially joins forces with Bugatti under the recently announced company Bugatti Rimac d.o.o., the company announced.

The new company joins the forces of Rimac and Bugatti, which together continue with breakthroughs in the automotive and technology industries. Establishing the new company, which unites the two brands, is supported by the sports car manufacturer Porsche AG and one of the largest car manufacturers in the world, as well as the current owner of Bugatti - Volkswagen AG, reports Index.hr.

"After a short but turbulent 10-year history of Rimac Automobili since its inception in the garage, we come to the next big step for the company - merging with Bugatti into the newly established company Bugatti Rimac, which becomes part of the Rimac Group," the statement said.

Rimac Group will be the largest shareholder of Bugatti Rimac with a 55 percent stake.

Mate Rimac will retain his stake in the Rimac Group at 35%, Porsche at 22%, Hyundai Motor Group at 11%, and other investors at 32%. The development and production of battery systems, powertrains, and other components for high-performance electric vehicles, for which Rimac is known and trusted by many car manufacturers, will be separated into a new unit - Rimac Technology, which will be 100% owned by the Rimac Group.

"Bugatti Rimac combines the uniqueness of two automotive and technology pioneers. Rimac Automobili's entrepreneurial approach and technical expertise, and innovations in high-performance electric vehicles, together with Bugatti's 112-year legacy in design and engineering and the production of some of the world's most famous hypercars, are now combined. Porsche will act as a strategic partner and appoint two members of the Supervisory Board: Oliver Blume, President of Porsche AG, and Lutz Meschke, Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Porsche AG.

Mate Rimac's previous leadership and strategic direction, which led to Rimac Automobili becoming a significant player in the high-performance electric car industry, highlights him as an ideal candidate to lead the new company as CEO. As CEO of the Rimac Group, Mate Rimac will lead both Bugatti Rimac and the new division, Rimac Technology."

The global headquarters of Bugatti Rimac is located in the current headquarters of Rimac Automobil in Sveta Nedelja, on the outskirts of Zagreb. Still, in time it will move to the recently announced Rimac Campus, also to be home to Rimac Technology, worth more than 200 million euros, on 200,000 m2, under construction in Sveta Nedelja. 

Joint research and development of future Rimac Automobili and Bugatti hypercars will ultimately occur at the Rimac Campus - which is scheduled to open in 2023. As part of the new company, Bugatti Rimac will start operating with 435 employees, of which 300 will be based in Sveta Nedelja and 135 in Molsheim, France.

In addition, 180 people at the Bugatti Engineering site in Wolfsburg will support the new company, which will be integrated into the Bugatti Rimac office in Germany. Rimac Technology will have over 900 employees. Rimac Group will thus consist of more than 1300 workers at various locations.

Bugatti Rimac's new Board of Directors appoints Christophe Piochon as Chief Operating Officer (COO). He previously served as General Manager at Bugatti and guarantees the continuation of operations at the Molsheim plant. Larissa Fleischer becomes CFO. Previously, she was the head of control at Porsche in digitalization and the development of new business models. In addition, Emilio Scervo has been appointed Chief Technology Officer (CTO) and previously held the same position at Rimac Automobiles, where he joined after a prosperous career as technical director at Aston Martin, McLaren, Mercedes AMG, and Ferrari.

Rimac Automobili and Bugatti will continue to operate as separate brands and manufacturers, retaining their production facilities in Zagreb and Molsheim and distribution channels.

Rimac Technology will continue to innovate, developing vehicle systems and technologies for many global car manufacturers, with the application of the technology in future Bugatti and Rimac models as well.

Commenting on the first day of Bugatti Rimac's business, Mate Rimac, CEO, says:

“I am honored to be leading this new fusion of automotive minds and begin what will no doubt be a successful, revolutionary and exciting new chapter for everyone involved. I am also extremely curious to oversee the profound impact Bugatti Rimac will have on the industry, and I look forward to developing innovative new hypercars and technologies.”

“It’s difficult to find a better match than Rimac and Bugatti. What each party brings to the table in terms of technical expertise, know-how and automotive history makes for an electrifying recipe. Rimac’s fast-paced operations and electrification skills are the perfect complement to Bugatti’s exceptional heritage and craftmanship. Stay tuned for some truly extraordinary projects in the future.”

“I am convinced that we have found the right mix of experience and know-how, innovative strength and team spirit for the management,” says Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Executive Board and member of the board for Finance and IT at Porsche AG. “That’s why I’m very optimistic. And because the project is very close to my heart, I will continue to accompany it closely and passionately in the future.”

Oliver Blume, Chairman of the Board of Management at Porsche, names this merger as “the perfect solution” for everyone involved: “Together, we are creating a high-performance automotive company. We have succeeded in positioning the traditional Bugatti brand with its charisma for the future in a way that creates value. Bugatti embodies fascination and passion, and Rimac has great innovative strength and tech expertise.” 

For more, make sure to check out our dedicated business section.

July 5, 2021 - Mate Rimac's company Rimac Automobili has become the majority owner of Bugatti, and Rimac Automobili becomes Rimac Group divided into two companies - Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Technology.

This was announced this afternoon by Rimac Automobili. This confirmed the speculations that Rimac would take over Bugatti, a famous company known for super-luxury cars, reports Index.hr.

Mate Rimac accompanied the announcement of this news on Facebook with a photo showing Nevera, Bugatti, and Porsche on the runway.

More information about this great event will be announced tonight in Dubrovnik. In addition, speeches by Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili, Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche, and Lutz Meschke, vice president and chief financial officer of Porsche, have been announced.

Rimac Automobili says it is at a "turning point in the company's history," and the move, which became public today, is described as "merging with the icon of car brands, Bugatti Automobiles, into a new automotive and technology company."

In just 10 years, Rimac Automobili has progressed from a startup and one man in a garage to create a new company Bugatti Rimac d.o.o., in collaboration with two of the most famous and powerful car brands in the world - Porsche and Volkswagen Group, the statement said.

This Croatian brand has proven that it can keep up and open new vistas, imposing performance and technology standards on others. Combining Rimac's technical knowledge and efficient business with 110 years of design tradition and a strong Bugatti brand is leading to the emergence of the most important company in the hypercar market, Rimac Automobili announced.

Rimac Group will be the largest shareholder of the new company Bugatti Rimac d.o.o., with a share of 55%. Mate Rimac will retain its existing stake in the Rimac Group of 37%, Porsche remains at 24%, Hyundai Motor Group at 12%, and other investors at 27%. The development, production, and delivery of battery systems, powertrains, and other EV components, for which Rimac is known and gained the trust of many car manufacturers, will be separated into a new business entity - Rimac Technology - which the Rimac Group will wholly own. Rimac Technology remains an independent company that cooperates with many global car manufacturers, according to Rimac Automobil, from which they also sent an infographic of the new ownership structure.

Mate Rimac will head the new company. As CEO of the Rimac Group, he will lead Bugatti Rimac and the new company Rimac Technology. With this, Mate Rimac continues to manage all business segments of the Rimac Group, which now includes Bugatti. Bugatti and Rimac continue as separate brands, retaining existing production facilities and distribution channels, while the headquarters and all development for both brands will be in Croatia.

The Rimac Group will continue to innovate, create its own hypercars and develop systems and technologies for many of the world's car manufacturers. Such innovative technology will be applied in future Bugatti models, Rimac Automobil said in a statement.

Both brands, Rimac Automobili and Bugatti, will continue to develop car models within the new company. In the future, Bugatti Rimac's global headquarters will be located at the new Rimac campus, which will also be the headquarters of Rimac Technology, as well as the production of technology and components for cars of both brands, while the assembly of the Bugatti model will continue in Molsheim, France, thus continuing to use the historical location, which is inseparable from the Bugatti brand. The 200m-euro campus, with a building area of 100,000 m2, which should open in 2023, will be the base for all research and development of future Rimac and Bugatti hypercars. Conceived as the core of high-tech innovation, the Rimac campus will bring together 2,500 people driven by shared curiosity and a desire to reach extremes, the statement said.

Commenting on today's announcement, Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili, said: "This is an exciting moment in the short but turbulent history of Rimac Automobili. We have gone through so much in so little time, but this new project takes things to a whole new level. Rimac and Bugatti complement each other perfectly. As a young, agile, and fast automotive and technology company, we have won the trust of our partners and a strong position in the high-performance electrical technology industry.

With Nevera, we have also proven that we can develop and produce outstanding hypercars, which are fast and exciting, and high quality. Bugatti has more than a century of experience in engineering excellence and one of the most impressive car lines.

We recently unveiled our latest hypercar, the Nevera, which was met with positive reactions from professional media and automotive enthusiasts worldwide. I am therefore extremely excited about the potential that is combining the knowledge, technology, and value of these two amazing brands in creating some exceptional projects. In addition to creating new and exciting cars, we want to create an extremely successful and profitable company, which will be successful for the next 100 years," said Rimac.

Oliver Blume, CEO of Porsche AG, said:

“We combine Bugatti’s strong expertise in the hypercar business with the enormous innovative power of Rimac in the up-and-coming field of electromobility. In this joint venture, Bugatti brings its brand of rich tradition, icons, a base of loyal customers, and a global network of dealerships. In addition to technology, Rimac is introducing a new development and organizational approach."

Lutz Meschke, Deputy Chairman of the Management Board and Member of the Management Board for Finance and Informatics of Porsche AG, said: "We bought our first stake in Rimac three years ago and have since increased it successively. This has allowed us to build a close relationship with Mate and his highly innovative team. We now benefit from the investment. Rimac helps us with his knowledge to successfully introduce an emotional and important brand of the Group into the future. I am very proud and happy that we have completed this joint investment despite many challenges. This is an important day for Bugatti, Porsche, and the entire Volkswagen Group."

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

As SEEbiz.eu/autonet writes on the 7th of August, 2019, rumours that Bugatti has been interested in developing and launching a crossover have been roaming the auto industry for some time now, but the details have remained left to speculation. Could Croatia's Rimac Automobili play a part in that story?

With that being said, recent information indicates that the Moslheim team is very interested in an electrically powered crossover, and Mate Rimac's one and only Rimac Automobili could be the one to play a significant role in all of this, according to a report from autonet.

At first, it was rumoured that Bugatti would use the Lamborghini's Urus to develop its crossover, but Automobile Magazine reports that the 4.0 bi-turbo V8 is not really what the famed French brand wants. The source said that those responsible for this in Bugatti thought that their new model should have an electric powertrain and instead turned to another VW Group member instead of Lamborghini.

More specifically, Bugatti reportedly contacted Rimac Automobili through Porsche, as ten percent stake in that company is now held by Porsche. Talks have also been held about the possibility of using a 1914-horsepower electric powertrain that fits into Rimac's magnificent Concept_Two.

Still, this is all mere speculation at this point and there is currently no official confirmation from any of the involved parties about these allegations for the time being, but it seems a little unusual for Bugatti to opt for the development and launch of a nearly 2000hp crossover, at least while the Chiron is still very much in production. In addition, it is expected that Bugatti could sell over 600 copies of that model of car, and possibly at a price lower than Chiron's.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more on the business scene in Croatia. If you're interested in Croatia's entrepreneurs, Croatian products and Croatian companies, follow Made in Croatia.