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It looks like Bugatti will soon become a fully electric car company. This comes after reports emerged that Volkswagen is looking to sell the French supercar brand to electric car company Rimac.
Volkswagen executives reportedly approved the grand deal with the Croatia-based company last week. However, it has yet to be approved by the auto giant’s oversight board. But why did Volkswagen decide to ditch Bugatti from its portfolio?
Apparently the VW Group is no longer interested in investing in expensive supercars. With high development costs and low volume profits, the Bugatti brand doesn’t exactly make a lot of money for Volkswagen. And with the company’s new direction toward electrification, digitization, and autonomous driving, selling Bugatti to another company seems like the most logical thing to do.
The Bugatti brand served as the “crown jewel” of the VW Group when it was revived by former president Ferdinand Piech. What can VW gain from the deal besides a large sum of money? Well Porsche initially took a 10% jolt in Rimac, which eventually rose to 15.5%, they could take advantage of this by having Porsche take a bigger stake in the EV brand.
With Rimac specializing in electromobility, battery development and performance electronics, Volkswagen could gain more access to Rimac technologies through Porsche. And since Porsche already has the Taycan EV in its portfolio, having a significant stake in Rimac means they could borrow technologies from the Croatian company.
As for Bugatti’s future under Rimac, the Molsheim-based supercar brand may be in good hands, as Rimac is also in the business of making hypercars. The company’s main arsenal is the C_Two, which was first revealed in 2018. Despite having a strange name, the C_Two actually produces a whopping 1,940 hp and a staggering 2,300 Nm of torque. With that kind of power figure, the Rimac C_Two easily outperforms the more powerful Chiron Super Sport, which already produces an impressive 1,599 hp and more than 1,600 Nm of torque.
With Porsche looking to increase its stake in Rimac by as much as 49%, perhaps Volkswagen’s plan to sell Bugatti will result in the company acquiring all available technologies from Rimac. Maybe letting go of Bugatti really helps Volkswagen realize its electric future.
Sources: Car Magazine, Automotive News
