Bugatti no longer part of Volkswagen as Porsche completes €1 billion sale

Key takeaways

• Porsche closed the Bugatti Rimac and Rimac Group sale on 9 September 2026
• Proceeds of about €1 billion, with €250 million going to pension obligations
• No change to Porsche's Australian lineup or local dealer network

Porsche has completed the sale of its stakes in Bugatti Rimac and the broader Rimac Group, ending Bugatti's 28-year run inside the Volkswagen Group. The transaction closed on 9 September 2026 after regulatory approval, five months on from the agreements being signed in April.

Buying Porsche out is a consortium of venture capital firms, led by New York's HOF Capital alongside Abu Dhabi's BlueFive Capital.

Porsche collects roughly €1 billion from the sale, about A$1.6 billion, and will direct €250 million of that towards its pension obligations. The carmaker now expects an Automotive Net Cash Flow Margin of 5.5 to 7.5% for full-year 2026, up from a previous forecast of 3 to 5%.

That cash matters more than usual. Sales in China have slumped and Porsche moved early on electrification, leaving it without petrol versions of the 718 or the Macan while a combustion Macan is developed.

Mate Rimac now runs Bugatti

Under the 2021 structure, Porsche held 45% of Bugatti Rimac, the joint venture housing both brands, plus a minority holding in the wider Rimac Group. Founder Mate Rimac held around 37% of the group.

Mate Rimac

Christophe Piochon, Bugatti CEO and Bugatti Rimac COO, has departed as part of the transaction. Mate Rimac adds the Bugatti CEO role to his existing positions at Bugatti Rimac, Rimac Group and Rimac Technology, while Marko Brkljačić steps up as Rimac Group COO.

The two companies remain linked commercially. Rimac supplies the battery for Porsche's T-Hybrid system, used in the 911 Carrera GTS and 911 Turbo.

Audi sells Italdesign majority stake

In a separate move last week, Audi sold a majority stake in Italian design house Italdesign to UST, a Singapore-backed IT consultancy headquartered in California and India. The deal was first revealed in December last year. Neither the price nor the size of Audi's remaining holding has been disclosed.

Founded in 1968 by Giorgetto Giugiaro and Aldo Mantovani, Italdesign penned the DeLorean, Lotus Esprit and BMW M1, plus the original Volkswagen Golf, the Fiat Panda, Punto and Uno, and the Hyundai Excel. Volkswagen bought 90% of the firm in 2010 and acquired the remaining 10% from the Giugiaro family in 2015.

Neither sale changes the Porsche or Audi model ranges offered in Australia and no local product implications have been announced.