Wednesday, June 19, 2024

FORGET TESLA

Croatian electric supercar company Rimac prepares to unveil robotaxi

The Rimac Nevera, Rimac's flagship electric hypercar, in Singapore
By bne IntelliNews June 19, 2024

Rimac, the Croatian electric vehicle (EV) company known for the Nevera hypercar and co-owner of Bugatti, will unveil its Robotaxi in two weeks, according to CEO Mate Rimac's Facebook post on June 18.

Rimac has been developing autonomous driving technology since 2017, receiving €179.5mn in funding from the European Union last year for the robotaxi project. The vehicle is expected to drive entirely without human input and will operate within a custom infrastructure, including chargers, storage hubs and parking spaces.

"In the next two weeks, we have two big announcements. First, next week we are revealing the next Bugatti. Then, the week after, we will unveil our Robotaxi project, previously called P3. We will reveal its real name along with the car, which is unlike anything we've done before,” Rimac shared.

Mate Rimac also reflected on the company's consistent progress, stating: "Since the beginning, we’ve had all-hands meetings every six months to discuss our direction and goals. This project is very close to my heart."

Rimac described the vehicle as "a car but a completely different type", suggesting it "could change the way people move around cities". He said that the service can be premium without being "expensive or posh". 

KIA Motors, part of the Hyundai Motor Group, is directly involved as an investor and shareholder in Project 3 Mobility, the Rimac Automobili sister company leading the robotaxi project. 

Project 3 is headquartered in Zagreb, with an R&D presence in the UK, employing around 100 engineers at the Rimac Technology R&D UK base near Warwick.

The project's first priority is to build a dedicated factory for the robotaxi, aiming to eventually export tens of thousands of units per year from Croatia to various global locations. "The goal is for the production of vehicles and a large number of components to be based in Croatia," Mate Rimac explained.

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