BMW announces partnership with Rimac Technology
Long term deal gives BMW access to Rimac's in-house battery tech
Aside from the rise of Tesla, no firm has achieved a steeper ascent from zero to hero than Rimac. And in many ways, its journey is much more impressive. Elon Musk was already well-known (and very deep-pocketed) when he helped turn Tesla from a Californian startup into a globe-spanning behemoth. Mate Rimac famously started in his garage. For the first two years, Rimac Automobili had no employees. Now it has 1,500 in Zagreb and Rimac is also the CEO of Bugatti. And he’s still only 36.
Famously, the car he started with was an old E30 3 Series, so it's safe to assume that he’s delighted with his firm’s latest long-term partnership. BMW says the aim of the collaboration ‘is to co-develop and co-produce innovative solutions in the field of high-voltage battery technology for battery-electric vehicles’ - but, like umpteen OEMs before it, the firm is buying into Rimac’s special sauce as a Tier 1 supplier ‘specialising in electrification’.
The chief advancement for Rimac is on the production side, which requires it to deliver considerably more volume than it has ever attempted before. The scale of the partnership will mean 'the establishment of sophisticated automated production lines for batteries at the Rimac Campus' - a development that will mean assigning a significant portion of the new facility to the project.
BMW credits its new long-term partnership with Rimac Technology (the wholly-owned sister company to Rimac Automobili and the tip of its money-earning spear) as ‘a sign of [its] transition from niche high-performance solutions supplier to high-volume Tier 1 supplier’ but truthfully the firm is already a long way down this road. The commitment of so much physical space to the venture, described as a 'pivotal moment in the growth of Rimac Technology' by Mate Rimac himself, suggests that the deal has been years in the making.
While BMW doesn't go into further detail about the scope of the arrangement, it highlights the comprehensive range of other electrical solutions that Rimac brings to the table - all designed and engineered in-house and available with 'a high degree of customisation'.
Additionally, the manufacturer confirms that the results of its collaboration will be used ‘in model generations slated for the second half of the 2020s’. So you’d imagine it is already well aware which of Rimac's high-voltage battery units slot straight into its future lineup. The manufacturer has already promised significant advances from the sixth generation of eDrive that debuts in the first of the Neue Klasse lineup next year; beyond that, it will seek Rimac’s help to go one better.
I'm aware that manufacturers collaborate all the time - but it's not usually announced like this unless it's either a full car co-development, or something like a 'lower status' firm buying in the services of a 'higher status' firm for some added cachet.
I'm aware that manufacturers collaborate all the time - but it's not usually announced like this unless it's either a full car co-development, or something like a 'lower status' firm buying in the services of a 'higher status' firm for some added cachet.
Mate was winning invention competitions from the age of 17 so his abilities and way of thinking have literally nothing to do with his fathers money or where it came from.
Mate was winning invention competitions from the age of 17 so his abilities and way of thinking have literally nothing to do with his fathers money or where it came from.
Mate was winning invention competitions from the age of 17 so his abilities and way of thinking have literally nothing to do with his fathers money or where it came from.
Mate was winning invention competitions from the age of 17 so his abilities and way of thinking have literally nothing to do with his fathers money or where it came from.
Mate was winning invention competitions from the age of 17 so his abilities and way of thinking have literally nothing to do with his fathers money or where it came from.
And regardless, the point still stands - dodgy family money or not, it's clear the guy has a brilliant mind. thecremeegg is maybe not smart enough to be able to see that...
Got it.
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