Rimac Automobili, the electric supercar manufacturer, will receive a EUR 200 million grant from the European Union’s EUR 6.3 billion approved Croatia’s Recovery and Resilience Plan which forms an aid package for a project to develop a driverless taxi.
“The project for the development of vehicles and infrastructure for new mobility has been recognized as one of the national strategic projects in the transportation sector, which represents a great potential for the society and economy of the Republic of Croatia in the coming period, as well as globally,” states the company press release.
The European Union Grant of EUR 200M will be used for the pre-commercial phase of the Driverless Taxis Project which totals to EUR 450M. Rimac Automobili claims it has been developing the Project for several years and it is expected to reach commercial phase at the end of 2024. KIA Motors, part of Hyundai Motor Group, is directly involved in the Project as an investor and shareholder in Project 3 Mobility Company.
“We have entered into key partnerships with companies such as KIA (also an investor in the project), Microsoft, the autonomous software provider, and many others. Negotiations are ongoing with about 20 cities in Europe and the Middle East, which would be the first cities where the robotaxi service would be enabled,” Rimac Automobili’s press release says.
“The goal is for the production of vehicles and a large number of components to be based in Croatia which would then export tens of thousands of units per year to locations where the Robotaxi service will be provided,” Mate Rimac said in the statement.
Project 3 Mobility is in negotiations with 20 cities in Europe and the Middle East to enable the Robotaxi service, with Zagreb expected to be the first city to offer it in 2024.