Porsche acquires stake in Rimac
Porsche's push to electrification continues with Croatian collaboration
Some interesting news out of Stuttgart this morning, with Porsche announcing it has purchased a ten per cent stake in Rimac Automobili, manufacturer of electric supercars and nemesis of Richard Hammond. Complete machines such as the Concept One and 1,914hp 'C Two' aren't all the Croatian company is known for, however, it also happening to be at the cutting edge of componentry including high-voltage batteries and electric powertrains.
Following the move the German marque will look to establish a development partnership with Rimac. Having previously worked with brands such as Aston Martin, Jaguar, Renault and Koenigsegg, as well as on its own vehicles, the relatively young enterprise's expertise should come in handy as Porsche looks to pivot into the electric vehicle market in the coming years.
Back in 2015 Porsche announced its intention to release a road-going version of its Mission E concept - more recently the Taycan - by the end of the decade. That car was vaunted to have over 600hp, a 0-62 time of under 3.5 seconds, a range in excess of 300 miles, and be capable of achieving an 80 per cent charge in just 15 minutes.
Rimac's C Two, meanwhile, made its debut at this year's Geneva show boasting over three times Porsche's target power output, a 1.85 second (!) 0-60 time and an NEDC range of 400 miles. It can also achieve an 80 per cent battery charge in 30 minutes; not quite what Porsche promised, but not too far off either given the extra range. In short, it isn't hard to see where the two company's interests converge.
Speaking about the deal, Lutz Meschke, Member of the Executive Board for Finance and IT at Porsche, said: "By developing the purely electric two-seaters super sports cars, like the 'Concept One' or 'C Two', as well as core vehicle systems, Rimac has impressively demonstrated its credentials in the field of electromobility. We feel that Rimac's ideas and approaches are extremely promising, which is why we hope to enter into close collaboration with the company in the form of a development partnership."
What this will mean for Rimac's own automotive output is anyone's guess, with founder Mate Rimac adding that, "This partnership now is an important step for Rimac on our way to becoming a component and system supplier of choice for the industry." Perhaps indicating that the company's future lies away from cars of its own. Whatever happens, though, Rimac has certainly done an exceptional job of creating exciting, useable electric cars and, most importantly, succeeded in getting them from the drawing board to the road. If its approach can influence Porsche's future electric output, it will surely be no bad thing.
Porsche and Jaguar might be in a position to sell electric cars that are there or thereabouts with Tesla in performance by the end of this year or the next.
However I don't see an VW or BMW gigafactory in anything other than planning stages so I doubt they would be in a position to produce nearly as many electric vehicles as Tesla for at least another two years or so.
Tesla currently has issues with fulfilling demand not creating it.
Also the Tesla Roadster mkII is a match for the next Rimac but at 1/8th the cost.
They want to work with everyone, wonder how Porsche will feel about that?
Porsche and Jaguar might be in a position to sell electric cars that are there or thereabouts with Tesla in performance by the end of this year or the next.
However I don't see an VW or BMW gigafactory in anything other than planning stages so I doubt they would be in a position to produce nearly as many electric vehicles as Tesla for at least another two years or so.
Tesla currently has issues with fulfilling demand not creating it.
Also the Tesla Roadster mkII is a match for the next Rimac but at 1/8th the cost.
Vertical integration does not pop up overnight just by throwing money at it. It takes years to roll out a gigafactory and install hundreds of chargers. Ground braking for the gigafactory was in 2014 and it is still far from full capacity. In addition, with the acquisition of Solar City, Tesla is a 'fuel' producer.
Competition will not kill Tesla any time soon. It will be ZIRP, more specifically the end of it. Once capital starts to flow back from equity into credit on a global level, a huge stock market correction takes place and Tesla will not be able to refinance. If they are very lucky, they will reach their desired economy of scale by that time. But it is getting tight.
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