Porsche’s announcement that it has offloaded its remaining stakes in Bugatti Rimac marks the definitive end of an era for the Volkswagen Group. The Stuttgart-based automaker is transferring its 45% share of the joint venture and its 20.6% stake in the Rimac Group to an international consortium led by New York’s HOF Capital. The deal, valued at approximately €1 billion, is expected to close by late 2026.
The buyer’s profile is as striking as the transaction itself. HOF Capital is not a traditional automotive player but a venture capital firm known for backing Silicon Valley giants like OpenAI, SpaceX, and Neuralink. This shift from German industrial stewardship to the hands of Egyptian-founded, New York-based tech investors signifies a profound change in how the hypercar industry is perceived by global capital.
For Porsche, this divestment is a move born of necessity rather than choice. The company is grappling with a historic downturn, particularly in China, where its sales have plummeted from nearly 96,000 units in 2021 to a projected 30,000 by 2026. Facing a 92.7% drop in operating profit in 2025, the brand has been forced to abandon its ambitious electrification targets and focus on preserving its core margins.
While Porsche retreats, the deal represents a masterstroke for Mate Rimac, the 37-year-old Croatian entrepreneur. Without deploying his own capital, Rimac has effectively regained operational control of the storied Bugatti brand while securing a strategic partnership with a tech-heavy venture firm. This transition places a hundred-year legacy of internal combustion mastery under the guidance of a man who started by converting a broken BMW in his garage.
The broader hypercar market is currently witnessing a retreat from the aggressive electrification promised only a few years ago. Ultra-luxury buyers continue to value mechanical texture and scarcity over the environmental credentials of battery power. By selling Bugatti, Porsche is essentially acknowledging that it can no longer afford to subsidize a 'halo' brand that offers high prestige but produces negligible profit in a tightening fiscal environment.