ZAGREB, 27 April 2022 - The Italian investment fund Investindustrial is investing a total of €120 million in Rimac Group in several rounds of financing, the high-performance car manufacturer has told Hina.

The money will be used primarily for the further development of the Rimac Technology company and serial production of key components for the electrification of vehicles for global car manufacturers.

The main shareholders in Rimac Group are Mate Rimac (32.64%), Porsche AG (23.5%) and Hyundai Motor Group (10.35%), while all other shareholders hold together 33.76%.

"The shareholding structure is subject to change in the next round of investment," said the group's spokeswoman, Marta Longin.

Investindustrial predicts that every third new vehicle on the road will be powered by electricity by 2025 and every second by 2030.

Mate Rimac started the Rimac Automobili company in 2009 in his garage, and today he employs more than 1,300 people. The company manufactures some parts for Aston Martin, Pininfarina, Hyundai, Kia, Koenigsegg and Porsche, among others, and is well-known for its high-performance sports electric vehicles. It is developing an autonomous vehicle, also known as a robotaxi.

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March 8, 2022 - The new Rimac Technology Split office will open in the 135-meter-high Westgate tower, better known as "Dalmatia Tower", this summer. 

This year, the tallest skyscraper in Croatia, the 135-meter-high Westgate tower, better known as "Dalmatia Tower", will be occupied by the most famous electric car company - "Rimac Technology", which will open a new office in Split, reports Slobodna Dalmacija. 

"Rimac Technology" is a sister company of the hitherto famous "Rimac Automobili", and the official opening of the office is planned for the summer.

"The new office we are moving into is the result of expanding our business and the need for new staff that we plan to hire in the coming period. We are currently renting one whole and an additional half floor in the tower, which should be enough to meet our business needs by the end of 2023. The office in Split will mostly be in charge of developing software solutions," Rimac Technology revealed. 

The first development office in Split was opened in 2018, and today it has 41 employees. Moving to a larger space also means new jobs.

"We plan to employ about 60 people this year and next. Today we are present in Split with 41 employees, while the plan is to grow to a team of about 100 engineers by the end of next year, so we can continue to develop software solutions for the serial production of Nevera and other components for the automotive industry," explained Rimac. 

The Dalmatia Tower is the tallest building in Croatia and one of the tallest in Europe. It is part of the Westgate project, which consists of two towers; the first Westgate Tower A, which has been the seat of the Management Board of Splitska Banka since 2016, today OTP banka and the second in which will house the new Marriot hotel and has 27 floors.

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ZAGREB, 19 Feb (Hina) - A source close to the ongoing investigation into possible abuse of power by a few office-holders told Hina on Saturday morning that the police were conducting the probe into Minister Darko Horvat and Deputy Prime Minister Boris Milošević, however, Labour Minister Josip Aladrović, was not implicated.

The source said that another two suspects are Velimir Žunac, a state secretary in the regional development ministry, and Katica Mišković, who is at the helm of the office for economically assisted areas.

Furthermore, a former minister Tomislav Tolušić, is also among those suspected of abuse of power.

On Saturday morning, media outlets reported that the police were searching the flat of Construction Minister Darko Horvat in connection with his former aide Ana Mandac implicated in the scandal dubbed wind parks where the main suspect is a former state secretary Josipa Rimac.

According to the unofficial information, the ongoing probe relates to the allocation of grants under an aid scheme for crafts and SMEs in the areas populated by ethnic minorities.

There are speculations that the disbursement of grants did not follow the criteria, and it has not yet been revealed the amount of the concerned money.

For more, check out our politics section.

February 17th, 2022 - Nevera passed all crash tests and is ready to be shipped to customers

Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac announced on Facebook that the all-electric hypercar Nevera passed all crash tests and is ready to hit the road.

The announcement reads:

Nevera has completed all crash tests. After 45 crash-tests and 9 complete cars destroyed in the process (and many many parts), we’ve made it – Nevera is the first US & EU certified electric hypercar!

All EU destructive, static and dynamic tests are completed – so the EU homologation is completely done. We have a few more static and sled-tests for the US which should be done during the next couple of months, but those are not critical (stuff like window anti-pinch tests).

So – EU cars are ready to be shipped to customers and US cars will be so very soon. We have customer cars on our brand-new production line (in a brand-new production facility) which we’ll show to you in the coming weeks as well.

We can’t wait for the first cars to arrive to the customers around the world! 

 Rimac also shared Carwow’s video showing one of the crash tests that had the €2 million car slamming sideways into a pole. Watch the video in the announcement or on YouTube.

February 1, 2022 - The first speakers have been revealed for Green Future Conference that will bring together Croatian and global technology leaders in Split on June 9th and 10th. The conference is sponsored by Rimac and Infobip. 

At the beginning of June, the City of Split will become the center point for exchanging knowledge, experiences, new technologies, solutions, and innovative green transition politics - all of the processes that will become imperative for Croatia, the European Union, and worldwide in the following years. On the 9th and 10th of June, the Croatian National Theater in Split will host the Green Future Conference. This event will bring together 'the best of Croatia' and global technology leaders in technology and public policies to speed up the processes in this part of Europe. 

The date of the conference was not chosen by accident - the new programming period brings significant grants with which the European Union wants to encourage sustainable investments, innovations, new job opportunities in Europe, and fair transition to achieve the 2050 climate neutrality goal. It's an opportunity not to be missed. 

The participants will have the opportunity to listen to Matija Žulj, founder of AGRIVI, a startup for digital innovations in agriculture that has provided over 50 million HRK in investments. Today they help companies worldwide produce nutritious, healthy, and sustainable food by digitizing agricultural production and supply chains. 

Federico Christophoroni, one of the speakers, is the co-founder and CEO of Eutopia, a platform with more than 16.000 startups in Europe developing climate change solutions. The platform also provides data, insights, and software tools to help policymakers, investors, and corporations make informed decisions. 

Ivica Puljak, Mayor of Split, an internationally recognized physicist, a longtime advocate of the popularisation of science and applying new technologies, will participate in a panel on public policies together with representatives of European cities who have already achieved the results that await us.

Much can be learned about public and private sector cooperation from Stephanie E. Trpkov, an entrepreneur, investor, and longtime World Bank consultant in the areas of competitiveness and energy. She specializes in low-carbon transition, digital transformation, and smart cities. The European Commission has chosen her as a leading expert for two out of three Croatian cities involved in the '100 Intelligent Cities Challenge' initiative.

In Split, we will bring together global and Croatian technology leaders, companies, institutions, decision-makers, scientists, and other stakeholders from the sustainable development sector. We aim to raise awareness and learn about the green transition, finance it, and implement effective public policies that will lead to behavior change, faster technological innovations, and meet the 2050 climate neutrality goal. The conference is technology-oriented, but we'll by no means omit people - decision-makers, entrepreneurial leaders, and citizens. The whole thing starts with us and ends with us. We want to open room for new business collaborations and investments, to present the best examples of public policies and changes in thinking that await us, changes that are already here - said members of the Organizing committee consisting of companies Green Summit, Profico, a digital agency with many years of experience in developing technological tools in the field of smart cities, and VAJT, an award-winning agency for public relations.

As of today, you can visit the conference website. In the following period, all the speakers will be presented there and the conference schedule. The ticket sale has also started.

The Green Future conference is supported by two leading Croatian tech companies - the whole event is powered by Rimac Group, the challenge partner of the startup competition is Infobip. The City of Split also supports the event.

For more, check out our dedicated lifestyle section.

ZAGREB, 27 Nov, 2021 - Rimac Automobili owner Mate Rimac said on Facebook on Saturday that a group of young man physically attacked his foreign colleagues in the centre of Zagreb last night and police confirmed being notified about the attack.

"Is it possible that this happened in Zagreb?! I'm shocked and sad," Rimac said in a post.

He said he spoke to the victims and that they said they had seen a group of young men shouting "Go back to where you came from. What the f'uck are you doing in Croatia" as well as swearing.

"Our employees tried to avoid a conflict, they crossed the street and hurried, but the attackers caught up with them and started a physical showdown," wrote Rimac.

He said the group attacked five or six Rimac Automobili employees near the Croatian National Theatre, adding that one person had their nose broken and that another had a milder concussion.

Rimac said one of the things his company always underlined to the candidates they attracted from all over the world was that Croatia was a safe country where foreigners were not looked upon as second-rank citizens.

"This is a single incident by a group of uneducated idiots who, I hope, won't change the perception of the foreigners who came to build their lives in Croatia. I hope the police will do their job promptly and efficiently and that we will all realise how much the foreigners who come to live here contribute to the development of society and the economy," wrote Rimac.

Zagreb police told Hina they were notified about a physical clash between a number of persons around half past midnight. They could not confirm they were employees of a company because they did not have that information nor say how many persons were involved in the clash. A criminal investigation is under way.

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ZAGREB, 1 Oct 2021 - Croatia's exhibition at the EXPO 2020 in Dubai from 1 October 2021 to 31 March 2022 will be presented as an inspiration to great minds which is based on the EXPO's main theme "Connecting minds, creating the future," the Croatian National Tourist Board (HTZ) said on Friday.

EXPO 2020 Dubai will attract 190 countries, including Croatia, whose pavilion has been named "Croatia Inspiring Great Minds."

During the six months that EXPO 2020 will run, it expects about 25 million people from around the world to visit, including business people as well as government representatives, as well as many virtual visitors, with the organisers expecting more than 3 billion people to see the exhibition.

HTZ underscored that Croatia's exhibition will be interesting and it will present various innovative projects, inventions and creative individuals because, "thanks to many advanced minds, Croatia is recognised in the world today for numerous achievements."

Croatia's exhibit will present genius minds like Nikola Tesla, Ruđer Bošković and Slavoljub Penkala, who left a significant trace on the world's future. The exhibit will also include the Rimac Nevera, the fastest electric car in the world.

Apart from science, Croatia will present itself as a sports nation with renowned athletes like Dražen Petrović, Janica and Ivica Kostelić, Luka Modrić and many others.

Visitors will be able to become familiar with Croatia through multi-media projections and virtual experiences, including travelling through all of Croatia's natural beauties and its cultural heritage.

The creative concept for Croatia's pavilion at EXPO 2020 was created by the Real Group, Architect Ante Vrban and the Morium company.

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ZAGREB,  23 Aug, 2021 -  An automotive contest called "Rimac Formula Student Alpe Adria 2021" will take place in the northern Croatian town of Novi Marof on 26-29 August, bringing together  37 teams from 14 European countries.

This will be an opportunity for 850 undergraduates in those 37 teams to promote bolid cars they have made at their universities, the organisers have said at a recent news conference in Varaždin.

"The project intends to showcase the most innovative solutions in the auto industry, prepared by students from all over the world. Rimac Formula Student Alpe Adria is a variant of this project," said Tibor Kezelj, the head of the Varaždin-based FSAA association that organises the Croatian variant of the Formula Student, a student engineering competition held annually

Student teams from around the world design, build, test, and race a small-scale formula style racing car. The cars are judged on a number of criteria.

In Novi Marof, the jury includes judges from Formula 1 and other top-notch judges from the automobile industry.

Kezelj said that the contest also promotes the STEM sector in Croatia.

The sponsors of the event are the Rimac Automobili company and local authorities in the town of Novi Marof and Varaždin County. 

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ZAGREB, 8 July 2021 - The owner of Rimac Automobili, Mate Rimac, said on Thursday that his company is developing a project for autonomous vehicles, robotaxis, and that the first ones if the project is a success, could be tested in Zagreb streets in 2024 already.

He underscored that at the start of next year he would present the robotaxi, a driverless vehicle, to the public. He added that the Nevera model is now completing homologizing and testing and that soon it will be put into serial production. The robotaxi project should be much larger than Rimac Automobili.

"This is something with big potential. A robotaxi prototype has been made, our guests saw it today, however, we have to bring it to a higher level and present it as it should be, probably at the start of next year. The idea is that in 2024 we launch that autonomous vehicle on Zagreb's streets. If we don't succeed with that project, all the money that we invested and will invest will fall through, and that's hundreds of millions. Our objective is to do that by 2024, together with all the necessary infrastructure," said Rimac.

Rimac reiterated that his company has still not succeeded, that success is yet to come, but said that it is going towards that with 1,000 employees and more than €200 million in investment attracted and many more investment to come.

"And that is an investment in development, employment, and production in Croatia that is exported to the entire world. It was a big thing for us to take over Bugatti, a company that has been in business for more than 110 years. That is a big responsibility. For the first time in history, VW has divested a brand from its portfolio," underscored Rimac, adding that VW is the biggest company in Europe with annual revenue of €250 billion.

Bugatti is a successful company but Rimac Automobili wants to make it even more successful, he said.

"It's not true that Bugatti is a hot potato. They are successful. In the past three years, they have been profitable. They sell 90 vehicles a year and have a revenue of about €300 million," he underscored and added that the VW Group agreed to the transaction because it believes that Rimac Automobili has the technology and right approach for something like that.

In that regard, he explained how Porsche had brought its Panamera prototype to Rimac Automobili and said that it had three months to show how the vehicle can be improved. "Within the same battery dimensions and same mass, we created a vehicle that has twice the range and twice the battery capacity," said Rimac.

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June 3, 2021 – Croatian automotive sensation Rimac Nevera has made its way down to Dubrovnik where it awaits potential buyers. 

Rimac Automobili is a Croatian wonder. This boutique car manufacturer makes some of the fastest and most advanced electric hypercars in the world. After the great success of its Concept One, the new production car is Nevera. Nevera is a term on the Croatian coast describing a storm over the sea which can come out of nowhere and end up being deadly. What an apt name for the strongest production car in the world, measuring 1914 BHP.

We reported on the details of Rimac Nevera. The mastermind behind the company Mate Rimac is very happy with the end result. He stated the car's components are completely custom designed just for this model. With an impressive 0-100km/h achieved in 1,85 seconds, it is clear Rimac has created another head-turning masterpiece.

What's Next?

The latest news coming out of Dubrovacki Dnevnik is that Rimac Nevera is already in Dubrovnik. More precisely, it is at Sun Gardens Resort, just outside of Dubrovnik. Here, the potential buyers will enjoy the first look at the finished product. The resort, which already has a few car-related events of the highest order under its belt, will be a wonderful setting for the official sales event. With the price tag of 2 million, Rimac Nevera is not a car that many will buy. In fact, only around 150 units of these cars are going into production, as it stands now.

With Nevera's being officially revealed only days ago, we are expecting a surge of news, articles, and media hype over this unique car of unparalleled characteristics. Perhaps it is time to follow up the success of Rimac Automobili with other Croatian companies focusing on alternative power sources. It just might be the niche this country's economy is so desperately searching for.

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