Rimac Bugatti Deal To See Porsche Gain 49 Percent Share In EV Firm

Cristiano Ronaldo Bugatti Centodieci — Bugatti might well become an EV brand in the coming years

The Volkswagen Group is set to complete a Rimac Automobili, Bugatti deal as they plan to fund future projects without the need to spend money on the hypercar manufacturer.

Executives of the VW Group are said to have approved the deal last week and it is awaiting the approval of the supervisory board.

This deal is happening because the automotive giant does not want to lavish money on Bugatti’s 16-cylinder toys, and instead, wants to direct funding to the future of motoring.

Since Bugatti was among prestigious brands that former Supervisory Chairman of VW Group, Ferdinand Piech, had acquired during his time and since the Piech family members hold 50 percent of the controlling interest of the group, the Rimac Bugatti deal is set to be done using Porsche.

It would be simple that way, since the 911 maker has 15.5 percent shares of Rimac under its control and Porsche is an important brand for VW. Thus, Porsche will sell Bugatti, which is valued at €500 million (Rs. 4345 crores), to Rimac and look to acquire 49 percent of the firm’s shares.

Currently, Mate Rimac, Founder of Rimac Automobili holds 51 percent controlling stake in the firm, while there are three major investors, two of them from China and the other being Porsche.

Mate Rimac had also paid a visit to Bugatti in Molsheim to take note of the infrastructure it has, back in July. Maybe the Rimac’s low-volume 1914 BHP C-Two hypercar will be built there. It is a real possibility now.

Once the supervisory board signs off the Rimac Bugatti deal agreement, Bugatti CEO Stephan Winkelmann is unlikely to stay. He is said to leave in late October after giving the go ahead for the upcoming Vision Le Mans, a one-off zero-emission track weapon.

Also, the VW Group wants to offload Lamborghini, Seat, Ital Design, Bentley and Ducati brands. But selling those brands is not expected to be as straightforward as the Bugatti deal. These are strange times indeed!