With Rimac’s latest investment in China, many questions have been raised. Croatia’s top entrepreneur explains his position…
As N1 writes on the 17th of March, 2018, among the few entrepreneurs who, despite the unfavourable economic and overall environment here in the Republic of Croatia, succeed (and very much so) in creating new value, is the one and only Mate Rimac with his incredible Rimac cars.
The founder and majority owner of the internationally respected Rimac car company showcased the incredible and highly anticipated Concept Two for the very first time recently in Geneva, resulting in yet more admiration from car lovers and experts across the globe. Rimac’s jaw-dropping Concept Two is the fastest electric car in the world with 1914 horsepower, and a maximum speed of 412 km/h. It has also been declared to be the most powerful sports car in the world by Germany’s Autobild.
“The Concept Two is important to us as a separate business, and the main product of our company is the battery system for other manufacturers, and in that field, we’re showing everything we can do. We want to produce 150 of these cars and this is a significant deal, since there were only eight Concept One cars. The first Concept Twos will be shipped to customers in 2020,” Mate Rimac stated for HRT.
Commenting on the announced 5 million euro investment into a battery factory in China, he said that the company is doing the job with the largest battery manufacturer in China, Camel. Part of the investment amount was also provided by the Chinese government. Otherwise, China is the largest market for electric cars and buses, as their government has opted for that path.
“Seven years ago, I was alone in the garage, and today there are 350 of us in two companies, we have people from 25 countries, and I’m particularly proud of it. From the very beginning, we were aiming for this to be achieved here – to open up top jobs. We want to expand, we have offices in Osijek and Split and we’re looking for locations for a new facility,” Rimac said.
Until fairly recently, Rimac was critical in terms of supporting the Croatian state in stimulating investments. When asked what he expected, he replied: “I want to help Croatia to bring other car makers here – to push the faculties together, to push the country in the right direction,”
The biggest problem here is considered to be the high tax rates inflicted upon the wages of people in high-quality workplaces.
