Porsche completes exit from Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group
The sale of all Porsche shares in Croatian automaker Rimac Group and the Bugatti Rimac hypercar joint venture, announced in April, has now been completed. Porsche generated approximately €1 billion euros from the transaction - and Bugatti President Christophe Piochon is stepping down.
Rimac Nevera tour through Croatia
Image: Rimac
Tensions between Porsche and Rimac have been public knowledge since April 2025, when rumours emerged that Rimac wanted to push the German sports car manufacturer out of the partnership. In April 2026, both companies then announced that a consortium led by financial investor HOF Capital – and backed by the Egyptian billionaire Sawiris family – intended to purchase Porsche’s stakes in Bugatti Rimac and the Rimac Group.
These transactions have now been completed: following regulatory approval, the Stuttgart-based sports car manufacturer finalised the sale of its stakes in Bugatti Rimac and the Rimac Group on 9 September 2026. Porsche AG will receive proceeds of around €1 billion from the sale. Of this, the company will allocate €250 million to further fund its pension obligations.
“This is an important step for Bugatti Rimac and the entire Rimac Group. I am delighted that HOF Capital and its consortium are becoming our partners in the next phase of our Group’s development, and I look forward to working together to realize the full potential of our companies. We have made strong progress across all companies in the Group, and I believe this partnership gives additional momentum to our continued growth,” says Rimac founder Mate Rimac.
Bugatti CEO Christophe Piochon departs
The new shareholder structure also brings a reshuffle in Bugatti Rimac’s top management: Christophe Piochon, who became head of the Bugatti brand during the VW era under Ferdinand Piëch, is stepping down as President of Bugatti Automobiles and Chief Operating Officer of Bugatti Rimac.
This can safely be interpreted as a signal to the market that Bugatti Rimac now has no further ties to the VW/Porsche environment, although Mate Rimac states: “With more than two decades with Bugatti, Christophe has strongly influenced the brand as it stands. From the Veyron to the Tourbillon, he has contributed to build and protect the quality and craftsmanship that define all hyper sports cars leaving Molsheim. On behalf of the entire team at Bugatti Rimac, I want to thank Christophe and wish him every success and take the opportunity to welcome Marko.”
Mate Rimac will now take on the role of President of Bugatti Automobiles himself, while Marko Brkljačić – former Chief Operating Officer of Rimac Technology – will join Bugatti Rimac’s leadership team as Chief Operating Officer.
Mate Rimac, a Croatian who grew up in Germany, founded his company in 2009 after converting an old BMW 3 Series into an electric car in a garage. Over the years, his startup developed a fully electric hypercar called the Rimac Nevera, which has been produced in a limited series since 2022 and achieves a top speed of 412 km/h.
Rimac and Porsche linked since 2018
Porsche first invested in Rimac in 2018 and gradually increased its stake to 21 per cent. In 2021, Porsche then brought its hypercar brand Bugatti into a joint venture with Rimac called Bugatti Rimac, with the Rimac Group holding a 55 per cent majority and taking the lead.
Today, Rimac is significantly more diversified: under the Rimac Group umbrella, there are four divisions. The Bugatti Rimac division focuses on hypercars with both electric (Rimac Nevera) and conventional (Bugatti) powertrains. Rimac Technology operates as a Tier-1 supplier, manufacturing, among other things, the battery systems for the new BMW i7. The Verne unit operates a robotaxi service. In the fourth and newest division, Rimac Energy, the company is building a business for stationary battery storage systems.