The Rimac Project 3 Mobility initiative plans to debut a pilot prototype robotaxi later this year.
In what is perhaps the wildest swing of between projects themes, EV hypercar marque Rimac has recently announced that it will soon be debuting an autonomous robotaxi. Yes, you read that right, the builder of the near-2,000 hp Nevera is currently on track to expand into the mass-market mobility sector with a self-driving shuttle.
Now details regarding this autonomous robotaxi project from Rimac is unfortunately still rather skint thus far, with the hypercar manufacturer basically all but confirming the name at this point. In any case, this endeavour dubbed Project 3 Mobility — whose name seems to derive from it being the third Rimac endeavour after the Concept_One and Nevera hypercar — will reportedly be some sort of pod-type shuttle vehicle that is claimed to offer a premium mobility experience without any direct human input while on the road.
Other details that have been gleaned regarding this project from various sources meanwhile indicate for it to supposedly be fully revealed as a pilot prototype in the coming months, with apparent commercial operations currently slated to commence in 2026. Further reporting by Autocar points to Rimac being in discussions with 20 cities in Europe and the Middle East for this aforementioned robotaxi service, with its rollout in Germany and the UK penned for right after its initial debut in its home market Croatia.
Rimac is also allegedly going all in on the infrastructure to support its fleet of robot axis too, with it to apparently be undertaking the installation of chargers, storage hubs, and parking spaces alongside its autonomous robotaxi endeavour. Though perhaps having buried the lede here somewhat, it is worth highlighting that this new Project 3 Mobility initiative of Rimac’s is to be entirely distinct from its other hypercar projects.
Funnily enough too, despite being close partners with Volkswagen (seeing as Rimac now owns Bugatti after all), this autonomous shuttle project apparently only got off the ground with the help of Kia. The South Korean automaker had previously been an early investor in the Croatian EV startup back in 2019, and while details regarding its involvement in this project is unknown thus far, it would not be too far-fetched to discover that there is some cross-pollination of technology between Rimac’s robotaxi and the wider Hyundai Group’s recent efforts.
Having said that, Rimac asserts for the robotaxi’s development is to still be undertaken in-house, with around 100 R&D engineers also operating out of a new facility in the United Kingdom. The boutique EV manufacturer also still plans for the manufacture of these shuttles to be undertaken in Croatia, with the eventual goal of exporting tens of thousands of units each year.
