Through a variety of sources online and numerous reports there has been talk of Volkswagen selling Bugatti to Rimac. VW already does business with Rimac through the electrification of the Porsche brand and VW has a minority stake in Rimac. So for VW to sell Bugatti to Rimac isn’t a stretch of the imagination. VW would save billions from not having to electrify Bugatti themselves. They would also gain a larger stake in Rimac and be able to spread that technology throughout all VW’s 11 auto brands they own.
What Does Bugatti Selling to Rimac Mean for Electric Cars?
Over the past half century automobile posters have inspired millions of people to achieve their goals to be able to buy “that” car. That one car that they though was the coolest thing in the world and they had to have it. The interesting thing about that is many of those people bought “that car” because they had that poster as a reference and inspiration or they saw it featured in a magazine.
So what happens when some of the most iconic, fastest cars in the world become electric? Everything else becomes “uncool”. The wealthiest people and “trendsetters” desire and own the most expensive electric hypercars ever made. People who desire to do the same and create the same lifestyle like the automobile admirers we see in Monaco are all inspired by the car blogs and YouTube channels dedicated to the love of automobiles. Whatever is the newest, coolest, most amazing car out there people want it. And those who can’t afford the “best” get the closest thing they get can to it. Businesses have understood this for centuries which is why we see different priced levels of the same product or companies clamoring to make the same thing as everyone else but making an “affordable version” or knockoff. So with Bugatti as the pinnacle of electric vehicles it trickles down to every other automobile brand simply through inspiration or “setting the standard” of what a car should be. Tesla has done this with their design and now VW seeks to do the same thing with an existing legacy automaker thats already well known with a reputation. Volkswagen’s strategy to sell Bugatti to Rimac is simply genius.
But it gets better! This is an ideal scenario for both companies and the planet. Heres why.
- Rimac would own one of the most iconic, legacy brands of luxury high end performance vehicles, expanding their reach. Rimac would then of course make Bugatti electric.
- Volkswagen benefits by selling a brand that needs to be electrified to Rimac, who sets new standards when it comes to electric performance. On top of that, VW gets access to Rimac’s EV technology through Porsche, whom they already have a deal with while making money off the sale and saving billions on research and development.
- The planet then benefits by having a 16 cylinder fossil fuel vehicles (that get 11 miles per gallon of gasoline) switched over to using more reliable and simple electricity. More vehicles worldwide become electric as through influence of the Bugatti brand.
Then all of a sudden… electric cars are the new standard and anything less than that is unacceptable by the public. The deal may be bigger than reported if Volkswagen includes a few of their other brands in the deal both of which would make a lot of sense from VW’s position and Rimac’s.
It was reported that Lamborghini, and Ducati may also up for discussion in the deal which if that comes through would be an incredible advancement for the automobile industry. Rimac already has all the technology and capability to make both Bugatti and Lamborghini 100% electric. Rimac also has the technology ready for electric motorbikes too through their company they own called Greyp. Now while these aren’t traditional style motorcycles the Greyp G12 is capable of reaching 70mph. So it isn’t much of a stretch to build upon the existing technology from Greyp and Rimac’s hypercars to make something ready for Ducati motorcycles.
If everyone at VW, Rimac and Porsche agrees on this deal it is a huge win not only for all the companies involved and the planet but for the electric car space as a whole. The world’s largest automaker becomes electric at a much faster rate which would force the hand of every other automaker globally to do the same. Electric vehicles will be the new normal at some point in the very near future and this potential deal between Volkswagen and Rimac to buy Bugatti is a great sign.
