Industry News: Hyundai and Kia Invest 80 Million Euros into Rimac Automobili

[William Maley]

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From the strange bedfellows' file; Hyundai and Kia have announced a joint investment of 80 million Euros (about $90 million) into Croatia-based Rimac Automobili. Rimac may be known to most people for the fast Concept One electric supercar - the vehicle which Richard Hammond had a serious crash when filming The Grand Tour.

"The companies will work closely together to develop prototypes for an electric version of Hyundai Motor's N brand midship sports concept car and a high-performance fuel cell electric vehicle. Hyundai Motor Group will leverage the partnership to build on its existing R&D capabilities to meet its electrification plan, which includes deployment of 44 eco-friendly models by 2025," Hyundai said in a statement this week.

Hyundai has been teasing the idea mid-ship sports car for the past few years with a number of Veloster based concepts like the RM16 N. Maybe something could come to fruition with the help of Rimac.

What does Rimac get out of this deal? This will allow the company to grow into a Tier 1 supplier for the industry for electric components. 

Source: Hyundai, Rimac

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HYUNDAI MOTOR AND KIA MOTORS INVEST 80M EUR IN RIMAC AND ESTABLISH A TECHNOLOGY PARTNERSHIP

• Hyundai Motor to invest 64M EUR; Kia Motors to invest 16M EUR; Rimac and Hyundai Motor Group form a technical partnership to collaborate on two high-performance electric vehicles by 2020

SEOUL, ZAGREB, 14 May 2019 – Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Motors Corporation have jointly invested 80M Euros in Rimac Automobili (Rimac) - the Croatian high-performance electric vehicle technology and sportscar company. The companies have announced a strategic partnership to collaborate on the development of high-performance electric vehicles.

With the new collaboration underway, Hyundai Motor Group aims to speed up its transition towards Clean Mobility and position itself as a global leader in driving this change in the industry.

Rimac has established themselves as a leader in high-performance electric vehicle technology and as an electric sportscar manufacturer. The company continues to deliver EV technology supporting many industry partners, including Hyundai Motor Group, to accelerate their way towards an electric future.

Hyundai Motor, Kia Motors and Rimac will work closely together to develop an electric version of Hyundai Motor’s N brand midship sports car and a high-performance fuel cell electric vehicle. “Rimac is an innovative company with outstanding capabilities in high-performance electric vehicles,” said Euisun Chung, Executive Vice Chairman of Hyundai Motor Group. “Its startup roots and abundant experience collaborating with automakers combined with technological prowess makes Rimac the ideal partner for us. We look forward to collaborating with Rimac on our road to Clean Mobility.” 

Founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili, Mate Rimac said: “We are very impressed by the Hyundai Motor Group’s vision and prompt and decisive initiative. We believe that this technology partnership will create maximum value for our companies and their customers. Rimac is still a young and relatively small but fast-growing company. We see a strong investor and technology partner in Hyundai Motor Group and believe that this collaboration will charge the company’s position as a Tier-1 electrification components supplier to the industry. 

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[G. David Felt]

Strange indeed, yet if Rimac is able to get Hundai and Kia to have performance sedans that can toast high end models from other OEMs and yet deliver it as a lower price point, they could really put the squeeze on the competition.

Will be interesting to watch.

[balthazar]

Rimac Concept One- announced production of 88 units was cut to EIGHT. They did sell all of those 8 however.
There's a 'concept Two' ("C_Two"- and you thought you hated some of Cadillac's names) - not sure how many have been sold. If it's priced at a million dollars, I'm going to guess less than 8, as the C1 production drop apparently talks to demand.

Not sure if 'lower price point' is attainable for EVs. The half-handful that are priced a mere 25% higher than the average car may well be being subsidized by IC production. The global vehicle fleet cannot withstand a unilateral jump to circa $75K.