Rimac Denies Hyundai Partnership Is Dead

Reports suggesting that Hyundai wants to terminate its partnership with Rimac are untrue, according to founder Mate Rimac. The Croatian entrepreneur took to his private Facebook account to dispel any notions, citing various articles in Europe thatreported the Korean automotive giant was looking to break ties with Rimac due to the electric supercar maker's involvement with Porsche.

"Hyundai has commented on the fake-news article which says that Rimac and Hyundai are ending collaboration because of the Porsche-Rimac collaboration. Both Hyundai and Rimac have said that it is not true. But [the] media still keeps writing about it. Well, says more about media than anything else," wrote Rimac.

In a statement to the press, Hyundai said that "Hyundai and Kia continue to invest in the Rimac Group and can confirm that several partnership projects are currently running at a high level."

The makers of the Nevera electric supercar signed a deal with the Hyundai Group as far back as 2019, with the Korean conglomerate investing €80 million into the company. Hyundai's interest in the boutique automaker stems from Rimac's expertise in building high-performance electric vehicles, a segment the Korean company hopes to branch into.

The partnership would bring about N-branded performance vehicles powered by cutting-edge electric powertrains. One of these future models is reported to be a focused electric sports car, with another said to be a Kia-badged high-performance fuel cell vehicle.

At the time, Rimac stated the companies 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." As per the CEO's latest announcement, this is still the case.

The rumors suggesting a split are centered around Rimac's involvement with Porsche. Earlier this year, the German automaker expanded its stake in the electric vehicle company. Not long afterward, Volkswagen-owned Bugatti joined forces with the little-known automaker to create Bugatti Rimac, a joint venture poised to create some truly exciting electric hypercars.

Hyundai owns a 12% stake in the company and will likely act in its best future interests. With hopes to lead the EV segment in the near future, the Korean carmaker knows it needs to cater to a wide range of customers in the electric future. Currently, the group offers a bevy of well-priced electric cars but has plans to introduce more affordable alternatives, too. Tapping into Rimac's expertise to further its N brand into the future only makes sense and we can't imagine the brand would break ties.