As Poslovni Dnevnik/Goran Jungvirth writes on the 12th of January, 2020, the innovative and talented Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac shared a new YouTube video on his Facebook page of a well-known YouTuber and speed expert who he brought to Croatia and provided with a job - Misha Charoudin.

Misha Charoudin, a Russian who adores cars and speaks several languages, is a motoring enthusiast who lived and worked at Germany's famous Nürburgring.

He is a well known Youtuber and has been for years, with several successful channels behind him, focusing on fast cars and everything about speed. While testing some of the fastest cars of today, he also knew how to break down what he recorded in his videos, making them not only entertaining but educational and drawing in subscribers and fans from across the world.

Mate Rimac, who is no stranger to being able to sniff out potential wherever he goes, has provided Misha with a job at Rimac Automobili in Sveta Nedelja, and the YouTuber has as such made the move to Zagreb.

''Hello Carmrades! This is the day I have moved to Zagreb, Croatia to start my new job at Rimac Automobili. I was very positively surprised to have made friends on my first day there. I hope you've enjoyed the new type of content, so I can keep on making more!'' wrote Misha on Saturday, who recorded an intro video of him landing in Zagreb to begin working for Croatia's beloved Mate Rimac.

Almost 13,000 people viewed the video in just one day, and his video of how he started racing at the Nürburgring and how much it cost him in had over 108,000 views in just four days.

Watch the video from Misha on his arrival in Croatia and the beginning of his new life with Mate Rimac at Rimac Automobili below:

Make sure to follow our dedicated lifestyle page for more.

December 22, 2019 - Another day, another piece of Rimac magic. Check out the latest from the RImac C_Two prototype in this stunning video. 

Last week I wrote an article listing my top 30 discoveries and best experiences of 2019 in Croatia. It was quite a list and it has been quite a year. The article was popular and widely shared, and I have had several requests to make it an annual list, a nice way to finish the year with a wave of positivity. A nice idea, and I will. 

But having lived here for 17 years and travelled to almost every corner of this wonderful country, just how many incredible places are there still left to discover?

LOTS! Including this little factory in Sveta Nedelja. With so much happening at Rimac Automobili, a visit is not long overdue, and I look forward to learning much more of the story. 

For the story is magnificent. I will leave you with the latest, in the words of the Rimac Automobili YouTube channel:

Following years of development and detailed computer simulations by the engineering team at Rimac, the Rimac C_Two prototypes are now being tested on tracks and in testing facilities around the world. The first batch of prototypes is undergoing vehicle dynamics, powertrain, passive safety and crash tests since spring 2019, pushing components such as tires and suspension to the limit. Following years of development and detailed computer simulations by the engineering team at Rimac, the Rimac C_Two prototypes are now being tested on tracks and in testing facilities around the world. The first batch of prototypes is undergoing vehicle dynamics, powertrain, passive safety and crash tests since spring 2019, pushing components such as tires and suspension to the limit. 

The Rimac C_Two is one of the world's most powerful and fastest all-electric hypercars. Designed, developed and manufactured at Rimac’s Zagreb HQ in Croatia, the C_Two bends the rules of driving and motion. Performance is on tap from zero, with 2300 Nm of torque instantly available. With its immense power density and lightweight construction, the C_Two is capable of 0-60 in 1.85 seconds and can hit a top speed of 258mph.  We are currently finalizing the development of the C_Two ahead of its production start at the end of 2020.

To follow the latest in the Rimac story, check out the dedicated TCN section. 

Beloved Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac is expanding Rimac Automobili's business to neighbouring Slovenia, where he will open a test centre code-named Hyper E-Car Lab in Novo Mesto.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of December, 2019, Mate Rimac entered into this business in cooperation with the Slovenian company Lastinski Inzenjering from the former Slovenian Minister of Infrastructure, Energy, Transport and Spatial Planning Samo Omerzel.

"Lastinski engineering has offered for us to expand our testing capacities with a facility in Slovenia, which, given the cooperation we have, makes sense not only for us, but also allows many other manufacturers to test their drive systems in the laboratory in Slovenia," says Mate Rimac.

The Hyper E-Car Lab in Slovenia will serve Rimac to test battery and propulsion systems for its own cars, but will also offer such services to other automakers.

"The testing of electric powertrains and battery systems is a relatively new area and all manufacturers are struggling for testing capacities, and although we have certain capacities for that in the company in Croatia, which we're also upgrading, we still need more capacity," Mate Rimac says.

He added that as the industry moves more and more towards electric cars, he believes this is a great opportunity to build such highly sought after competencies and capacities in Slovenia.

The Slovenian media have stated that former Minister Samo Omerzel and Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac received 3.4 million euros in support from the Ministry of the Economy for the test centre project in Novo Mesto.

They state that they have explained to them that the project will be "a high-tech laboratory, which will allow for the testing of batteries, propulsion motors and electronics for the batteries of high-capacity electric vehicles."

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more on Mate Rimac and other Croatian entrepreneurs.

The past few weeks have showcased just how important Hyundai's investment in Rimac Automobili actually is, and not just in an economic sense. Can the Croatian Government manage to match his advanced level of thinking?

As Poslovni Dnevnik/Vecernji list writes on the 12th of November, 2019, Germany's Angela Merkel has set out to set up a million electric car refuelling stations across Germany by 2030, by 2022 there should be 50,000 of them, which will cost three and a half billion euros in total. This is already a serious increase given that there are now 21,000 such locations across Germany.

In addition, new subsidies from the German Government for electric cars were introduced, all after the German chancellor attended the presentation of Volkswagen's ID.3, a fully electric car with aspirations to replace even the likes of the Golf one day. The idea clearly left an impression on the most powerful woman in Europe, and she made sure the measures to get things moving were in place.

Mate Rimac, known for being far more forward thinking than the Croatian Government, was absolutely right in investing heavily in electric vehicles, and especially on a regular basis, pointing out that his company was primarily concerned with technology, and only then does concern for cars follow.

''The car industry is changing like never before. Now it has much more potential and it's a great opportunity for Croatia. We don't exist today because we know how to make lights or doors well, that's been being done for a hundred years now, but because we started something that was new even to them at the time,'' Rimac told Prime Minister Andrej Plenković during his visit to his company in Sveta Nedelja this summer. The visit was, quite shockingly, the very first Plenković had ever made to the factory.

"I remember very well the enthusiasm in Croatia last year caused by the success at the World Cup. The automotive industry needs to get just that kind of attention. We firmly believe in Mate Rimac, his ideas and his technology. We can provide our knowledge and experience in this regard, but it just isn't going to be enough without the Croatian Government's support. Much more is needed, especially when it comes to education, such as forming projects that will allow the educated to stay here,'' said Lutz Meschke, Porsche's high-ranking manager.

The meeting with Plenković came after big news which regarded the investment of an enormous 80 million euros, or 600 million kuna, from Hyundai into Rimac Automobili.

"Rimac Automobili is an innovative company with outstanding performance in high-performance electric vehicles," said Euisun Chung, executive vice president of the Hyundai Motor Group.

''Their startup roots and extensive experience in working with car makers combined with technological strength make Rimac Automobili an ideal partner for us. We're looking forward to working with Rimac on our path to clean mobility,'' Chung said.

The information provided alongside the investment stated that Hyundai Motors wants to accelerate its transition to clean mobility and position itself as a global leader in driving this change in the industry. One of the key measures to achieve this is electrification, and precisely along those lines - they plan to market 44 electrified car models by 2025.

Having partnered with a number of major global car companies, this was the final confirmation of the good direction Rimac Automobili is heading in. This process involves not only a Croatian company, however, but Croatia as a country, and many steps need to be taken.

''At the June meeting, we presented very specific measures that Croatia needs to take to make it attractive for such investments. The meeting was attended by the leading people of Porsche (a member of the VW Group) and Hyundai. I'm pleased that how much such an investment would mean for Croatia has been recognised, and I hope that the government will use the analyis and suggestions we've made and the contacts we've established to attract such investments. If there is any way we can help in this process, we're of course available. We have attracted more than 150 million euros in foreign investment and we're working with all the major players in this area,'' Rimac told Vecernji list.

Make sure to follow our dedicated Made in Croatia and business pages for much more.

As Telegram/Vedran Vrabec writes on the 7th of October, 2019, the highly respected American newspaper The Wall Street Journal published a conversation a few days ago with famed Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, whom they refer to as "the next Elon Musk", claiming that ''Mate Rimac sells lightning in a bottle.''

The wildly popular New York daily begins its story by listing Rimac's numerous business successes.

This Croatian entrepreneur's incredible technology is embedded in the cars of famous manufacturers such as Aston Martin, Renault and Koenigsegg, his company attracted investment from Hyundai and Porsche, and VW acquired a 5.5 percent stake in Rimac's company last month, according to the aforementioned text.

"I think he's a genius," Heiko Mayer, who works on the Porsche electric model project, Taycana, said of Rimac. "I think he's going to become a legend."

Last month, Koenigsegg's Reger, a supercar powered by Mate Rimac's battery system, broke one of its most extreme speed records, when it reached 0 to 400 km/h in just 31.49 seconds, WSJ reports.

"Why do all these big companies come to strange, remote Zagreb, when they themselves have far greater resources? What is it that Rimac is doing differently?'' asked a New York journalist who spoke to the Croatian businessman.

"There's no 'silver bullet' that will solve all your problems," said the entrepreneur from Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who impressed the journalist with his excellent command of English, among other things. "There's a lot of optimisation, trying new things, experimenting; it's important to be quick, to test out ideas, concepts, simulations and detailed prototypes over and over again,'' explained Rimac.

The same is done in Porsche, the journalist notes, to which he explains that big manufacturers must be "technologically conservative." Rimac himself is certainly not conservative, as evidenced by the fact that his company's technology has not been patented. "If someone is so good to be able to copy us, go ahead, copy us, you deserve it. We're so quick that we move forward two generations before that technology can be protected,'' he said.

Mate Rimac built his business entirely from scratch, as the text states. The Republic of Croatia is one of only a handful of EU member states where there is no production of cars or auto parts other than his company, it is noted.

Rimac says his lack of investment from abroad was a big problem in the early stages of starting a business, as was the fact that there was nobody in Croatia to learn from about that type of business. "There was no market, there were no companies from which we could pull workers with some experience. Nobody knew how to make a chassis or a suspension, develop a crash test, develop headlights...'' Rimac tells WSJ of his rough beginnings.

His first product, the Concept One, turned out to be a real electric beast. It gained worldwide fame in 2017, when Richard Hammond, the host of the popular British show Top Gear, crashed it. To date, the company has recruited up to 600 employees, and has outgrown its existing facilities. Last year, Rimac introduced a successor to the Unit, named the C_Two.

In addition to the new car, Rimac Automobili is also planning a new complex, which reminded the respected American publication of something otherworldly, almost as if out of Star Trek. Rimac's new campus is set to be built on land covering 22 acres, near a 15th-century mansion. Among other things, it will have a green roof, and will also be home to animals, and Rimac (who is a vegetarian) hopes that their presence will make people think twice about eating meat.

In addition to all of the above, the complex will also feature a large outdoor meeting space, restaurants, a nursery, a hotel in the woods and more.

In addition to the production of parts for large automotive companies, a smaller number of Rimac supercars will be produced there, no more than three or four per month. "Costing two million dollars per car, this is no small business," said Rimac, whom the Wall Street Journal describes at the end of the text as a man obsessed with cars, speed, technology and, more recently, the launch of the Croatian automotive industry.

"Is all this good for me? Certainly not,'' Mate says with a laugh. "To do something like this means sacrificing everything else. I've accepted that. I have no time for myself or my friends.''

When asked about how he feels about Elon Musk, Rimac replies that he has never spoken to him. "But I'd like to talk about some things," he says.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for much more.

As Bernard Ivezic/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 29th of September, 2019, the 2018 annual report states that Mate Rimac's company has increased its investments to an enormous 106.7 million kuna, four times more than the year before. The level of investment offers some of the answers as to why Mate Rimac continues to do so well.

Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of the most famous Croatian startup Rimac Automobili, told Poslovni Dnevnik that he expects that in three to five years, his company will start to grow rapidly in terms of revenue. According to Business Croatia (Poslovna Hrvatska), Mate Rimac's now famous company has increased its revenue a more than impressive 7.5 times in the last five years. Last year, it amounted to 79.8 million kuna.

In addition, this week, the Croatian electric car maker was named the third fastest growing technology company in Europe, the Middle East and Africa by Deloitte, which also noted that it had experienced an increase of an amazing 361 percent.

"It's relatively easy to get on this list once, but this is our fourth year of being on it, which we're proud of, because it shows that we're able to sustain an upward trend in the long run," Rimac stated. He clarified that he also has a long-term strategy.

"Every year, we have significant growth, but our goal is to reach much more significant figures in five years, which is much more important to us than our previous financial results or the results in the next two to three years," Rimac said, adding that this year, his company has seen significant and quick growth.

As previously mentioned, the company's 2018 annual report states that Rimac Automobili has increased its investments to 106.7 million kuna, four times more than the year before.

"The development of a car takes 4-5 years, and just as long ago we started developing components for small-scale manufacturers such as Koenigsegg and Aston Martin, which means that these projects are now in series production," noted Mate Rimac.

He stated that in the past year, they have been transitioning from prototyping and small-scale production to large-scale production and the development and production of large series components for companies like Porsche and Hyundai.

Rimac says there are also more partner companies, but he can't mention them. This is similar to the agreement on cooperation with Pininfarina Cars which was signed off last September. It involves the development of a platform, propulsion components, batteries and other systems, and the job is worth a huge 80 million euros in total.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia pages for more information on Mate Rimac and much more.

Whatever car this top secret project between Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac and car giant Hyundai is set to produce in the end, the fruit of the cooperation between the two will only be produced in a very limited series.

As Poslovni Dnevnik/VLM writes on the 17th of September, 2019, Hyundai is working on a limited-edition sports car with Mate Rimac, the US-based CarBuzz reported after speaking with the head of research and development at the huge Korean company.

Back in May this year, Hyundai and Kia announced plans to invest an enormous 80 million euros in this Croatian company based in Sveta Nedelja near Zagreb, and in return, they should receive assistance in developing at least two electric vehicles.

Dr. Albert Biermann said it was still too early to talk about the details, but he noted one thingm and that was what has already been mentioned. This top secret project with Mate Rimac will see the end result produced in a very limited series.

He also mentioned that he had recently visited Rimac's headquarters in Croatia and that he was satisfied with their relationship, which he described as very fruitful.

''The level of technology with Rimac is very high. This is in line with our belief that nothing is impossible,'' said Biermann.

According to earlier rumours, the Hyundai and Rimac sports car will be a production version of last year's Genesis Essentia concept, but Biermann did not want to go into details when asked about the matter. He said they set a deadline for presenting the new car and were in no hurry because they wanted to do everything absolutely right.

"I can only tell everyone that they will be pleasantly surprised," Biermann said encouragingly.

CarBuzz also writes that Hyundai is currently working on an RM20 electric race car with Rimac.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.

Although Croatia's shining star of business, Mate Rimac, has some incredible achievements under his belt, he says that despite all of his barely comprehensible success over the last decade, he still looks at everything as if it were just beginning.

As Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 15th of September, 2019, more than 500 developers from around the world, as well as some of the most interesting topics from the programming community arrived in Tuhelj in continental Croatia for the Dev Days conference, RTL reports.

Croatian IT experts and innovators, including Croatian entrepreneur Mate Rimac, shared their respective success stories, as well as all of the numerous obstacles they came face to face with on their journey to their end goals.

"We went to work on a car in a country that had never made a car, none of us knew how to make a car. We had no idea what we were doing. We were all making mistakes and that was OK because we were open about it. You slip up, you screw things up, but you also learn something from that. That's important,'' stated Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of the now internationally famous Rimac Automobili when in conversation with RTL Danas (Today).

As previously stated, Mate Rimac's success has been unprecedented. The young boy from Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, who was curious about the world turned that curiosity into drive and eventually enormous success, in a very short period of time. Having built super cars that are made right here in Croatia and desired across the globe, Mate Rimac is a living, breathing example that yes, contrary to popular belief, you can succeed in Croatia, if you want it badly enough and are willing to match that desire with hard work.

Continuing to put his past and continued success to the back of his mind and vowing to view things as if he was just beginning obviously keeps this talented entrepreneur grounded in his visions and plans.

"We have to build the company to go from small-scale manufacturers to large-scale production. We're already at 600 employees, we're building a new factory. There are many plans, but we have to put this new car on the market. We have only just started," Rimac told RTL.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business and Made in Croatia page for much more.

September 14, 2019 - Why does Croatia have no car industry to speak of? Is there any potential? That man Mate Rimac thinks so. A look at what is happening in Slovakia. 

The Facebook post which has made me smile the most this month so far came from Mate Rimac. The electric car supremo was celebrating the latest success of his Greyp bike:

The Greyp G6 is the world’s most innovative e-mountainbike. Officially. Designed and made by 70 girls and boys in some little place called Sveta Nedelja in Croatia. Enjoy it all!

I have met Rimac three times and he has always been very complimentary about TCN. The last occasion was at the recent Entrepreneurial Mindset conference in Zagreb, where he was kind enough to come over and say hi to his 'favourite fat Brit'. It does not take long to be in his company until you are infected by his positivity and his almost childlike enthusiasm for what he is doing and achieving. One can only imagine how you process that incredible success in such a short space of time, but young Rimac comes across as very grounded and focused. And he really does wonder at the ability of 70 girls and boys in a small town in Croatia and their ability to design and make the most innovative e-mountainbike in the world. 

As just one of their products... 

Listening to Rimac speak about his entrepreneurial journey was arguably one of the highlights of the conference for all, but as his very impressive presentation went on, I found myself asking the question - what if we replaced the word 'Rimac Automobili' with 'Republic of Croatia'?

Rimac was working out of a garage as recently as 2010, not an unfair symbol of the Croatian economy right now. With some great ideas, innovation, dedication, persistence and 48 hours a day of hard work, 14 days a week, that garage has been exchanged for something altogether more impressive, as you can see above. Is there a way that the Republic of Croatia could emulate the Rimac trajectory? 

In just 9 years, that garage has expanded considerably. Is there a component which could be injected into the Croatian economy which could push it in the same direction, if not to the same levels of success, then at least somewhere on the way?

A country with impressive and achievable goals such as Rimac Automobili has set itself? 

Because if a tiny company can go from nothing to being a global leader in 9 years, why can a country not follow suit in certain aspects, especially if it has support and open doors. 

Croatia 2.0. A country looking forward, not back, with defined goals. The Rimac garage of 2010 will see quite an upgrade by 2021.  

And so began the most thought-provoking part of the Rimac presentation - the lack of a Croatian car industry and the success of neighbouring countries with their automotive industries. 

 A look at how the automotive industry directly contributes to GDP in neighbouring countries. 

And it not just the factories which make the cars, but the hundreds (from memory he said 500) of companies in Slovakia which produce parts for those vehicles. Jobs all over the country.  

A map of the automotive industry in Europe. Guess which country is missing out? Sales for Rimac cars may start at $1 million for Concept_One, but they have produced less than 20 cars in total so far, as far as I am aware.  

According to Rimac, Slovakia's exports of cars and parts ($22 billion) exceeds Croatia's entire foreign exports ($17.2 billion). 

Slovakia versus Croatia over time.

Tiny Slovenia to the west of Croatia, with double Croatia's exports, including $4 billion from the automotive industry. 

And yet, due to the stunning success of one small company in Sveta Nedelja, the perception of Croatian as a car-producing country is one of global excellence.

For a boy working out of a garage just a few years ago, Rimac has attracted some pretty awesome investors in his company, including Porsche and Hyundai. And their numbers combined dwarf Croatia's entire GDP. 

Rimac also looked at the Estonian example, where their digitalisation excellence has transformed the economy and made it a digital and innovation hub. Just putting public administration online has saved the equivalent of 2% of GDP, as we learned in Lessons from Estonia: Farewell Uhljebistan, Welcome to the Future? 

And like Slovakia, Estonia is outperforming Croatia. in recent years. Both Slovakia and Estonia have seen their economies having to adapt from socialism to capitalism. Their leaps ahead of Croatia have come in the last five years, not the last 25, a recent phenomenon. 

The car industry for Slovakia, digitalisation and innovation for Estonia. What is Croatia's strategy and route to success?

Prime Minister Andrej Plenkovic FINALLY paid a visit to the Rimac Automobili factory in late June this year. 

"The key to success in the automobile industry is a country's strategy and vision of what it wants to achieve. I believe that now is the right time for Croatia to join the so-called third wave of investments in the car industry because we missed out on that opportunity in the last ten years," said Rimac.

He said that the first investment wave in the car industry caught the Czech Republic, Poland, Hungary and Slovakia, the second caught again Slovakia as well as Romania, while the third one could include Croatia, in which all of his partners were interested as were representatives of Hyundai and Porsche. 

Will anything happen? Can Croatia move out of that 2010 garage and take advantage of the opportunity? Can it work with and build on the success of one small company whose outstanding success has put the Croatian car industry on a global level despite only producing less than 20 cars? If one small company can bring in over 100 million euro of investment from the likes of Porsche and Hyundai, what is the potential for the Republic of Croatia, not only to produce cars, but also starting other businesses to produce the various parts all over the country?

Wouldn't it be nice to have a major electic car production facility in the country which is home to the birthplace of Nikola Tesla, something inspired by the man whose 9-year journey from a car in a garage has made Croatia a global superstar in an industry it did not have a decade ago?

You can watch the Mate Rimac presentation in full below.

For the latest news on Mate Rimac, follow the dedicated TCN page.

When it comes to entrepreneurial ideas, attracting investment and indeed attracting the interest of massive industry like automotive production, there is no better person than Mate Rimac. This innovative man who was created from humble upbringings in Livno, Bosnia and Herzegovina, is without a doubt Croatia's most inspiring success story.

Who better, then, to offer their vast experience and knowledge to the Croatian Technical Culture Community?

As Ivan Tominac/Poslovni Dnevnik writes on the 11th of September, 2019, the newest member of the Croatian Technical Culture Community is the famous innovator and entrepreneur Mate Rimac, the owner of Rimac Automobili, and he will serve as a member of the Supervisory Board within the umbrella organisation.

Thus, with his enormous amount of talent, experience and knowledge, he will support the work of Ivan Vlainić, the president of the community, and the first person who, way back in 2006, as his mentor at the national innovation competition, recognised Mate Rimac's glimmering potential. Rimac will also work to help improve the processes required for project implementation.

"I'm personally making myself available as a consultant and one with real-life experience. I'm sure that together we can make a big leap forward and help people in the whole complex process from the bare idea to the realisation of a project. A valuable idea only makes sense if there's added value and that the product that will also create new jobs. This way, innovation can greatly help the economy and raise people's standards,'' said Mate Rimac, explaining that the aforementioned community has put a very welcome spring back in the step of many young people when it comes to the development of their ideas.

According to Vlainić, Mate Rimac will help develop new programs and projects that will raise the quality of education for children and young people and lifelong education to an even greater level, and he will also play a role in discovering new talent.

"It takes ten years of dedicated work to put an idea into action. With my advice, I can help ensure that innovative solutions in all areas of technical culture reach their much-needed investors," Rimac concluded.

Make sure to follow our dedicated business page for much more.