BMW has announced a long term partnership with Rimac Technology that will see the Croatian company produce battery technology for the next generation of electric cars from the German marque.

In a statement from Rimac, the company said the new partnership “represents the largest and most ambitious project the company has undertaken to date.” A significant portion of the Rimac Technology Campus in Croatia - where it employs 1,500 people - will be dedicated to the project.

Mate Rimac, Founder and CEO of Rimac Group commented on the new partnership:

"My business journey began with a 1984 BMW 3 Series that I converted into an electric car in my garage at the age of 20 so it’s a perfect piece of symmetry to partner with the BMW Group today. This marks a pivotal moment in the growth of Rimac Technology, from humble beginnings to a major long-term partnership with one of the greatest automotive brands in the world. It’s a clear sign of the transition of Rimac Technology from niche high-performance supplier to high-volume production capability. With the relentless growth of our business, including the opening of Rimac Campus, we’re now ready to deliver large-scale projects for the leading brands in the automotive industry.” 

BMW sources its batteries for its current EV range from five manufacturing sites across the globe and will build new factories in China, Mexico, USA and Hungary. A new factory is also to be built in Germany to assemble batteries for EVs built in its facilities in Munich, Dingolfing and Regensburg. 

The upcoming Neue Klasse range in 2025 will see a new, smaller type of battery technology, though it is unclear whether Rimac will have any involvement in that project at this early stage.

Further details about the partnership as well as any potential new vehicles will be released at a later date, although any results are expected to be seen in the second half of the 2020s.

words: Mike Booth
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