Bugatti’s Era Under the Volkswagen Group Is Over as Porsche Sells Remaining Stake to Rimac
tags:- Porsche has sold its remaining stake in Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture created between Porsche and Croatian supercar manufacturer Rimac in 2021.
- Porsche has earned €1 billion from the deal, equivalent to around $1.16 billion at current exchange rates.
- The sale marks the end of Bugatti’s time under the Volkswagen Group umbrella, which began when VW purchased the rights to the name in 1998.
Bugatti no longer has any ties to the Volkswagen Group. Just five years after the French supercar manufacturer became part of a joint venture with Croatian startup Rimac, owned 55 percent by Rimac Group and 45 percent by Porsche, Bugatti is now completely under the control of Rimac. Porsche announced yesterday that it has completed the sale of its remaining stake in both Bugatti Rimac and the larger Rimac Group, ending Bugatti’s time under the greater VW Group umbrella.
The transaction was finalized on September 9, with the stake in Bugatti Rimac and the Rimac Group now controlled by a consortium led by U.S.-based HOF Capital, as announced earlier this year. The Porsche AG Group said it has earned €1 billion from the deal, equivalent to around $1.16 billion at current exchange rates. Of that sum, Porsche said that €250 million will be dedicated to funding pension obligations. Porsche says that the net cash flow margin for its automotive business, essentially how well the company is converting sales into actual cash, is now expected to increase to between 5.5 and 7.5 percent for 2026. That is up from the previous 2026 forecast of 3 to 5 percent.
Bugatti will soon begin production of the Tourbillon.
The sale marks the end of an important era for the Bugatti marque. Bugatti returned to prominence under the control of the VW Group, part of then-CEO Ferdinand Piëch’s vision to reinvent the ultra-luxury and performance automotive space. Between the Veyron and the Chiron, and a number of limited-production specials, Bugatti once again became a household name for fans of ludicrous supercars.
Then in 2021, Porsche and Rimac established a joint venture designed to bring the storied French brand into the future with the help of Rimac’s electrical know-how. That collaboration bore fruit with the upcoming Tourbillon, which features a Cosworth-developed 8.3-liter V-16 engine and three electric motors from Rimac.
Production of the Tourbillon is set to begin this year, and Bugatti hasn’t detailed plans for any products beyond its latest hypercar, so it's unclear how Porsche’s sale of its stake in Bugatti will affect the company in the future. The move by Porsche isn’t a shock, however, as the sports car manufacturer has been strapped for cash of late. Porsche invested heavily in electric vehicles, discontinuing its bestseller, the gas-powered Macan SUV, and the gas-powered 718 sports cars, and has faced falling sales in China. Porsche is embarking on a dramatic plan to increase profits, and selling its stake in Bugatti is a start.
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Caleb Miller began blogging about cars at 13 years old, and he realized his dream of writing for a car magazine after graduating from Carnegie Mellon University and joining the Car and Driver team. He loves quirky and obscure autos, aiming to one day own something bizarre like a Nissan S-Cargo, and is an avid motorsports fan.