Rimac will supply batteries for BMW’s Neue Klasse electric cars

BMW’s neue Neue Klasse electric cars will get a neue klasse of batteries powering them, following a new agreement with a little-known company called ‘Rimac’.

Yes, that one. The technology arm of the company now famous for churning out a 1,888bhp time machine has entered into a “long-term partnership” with BMW, which will see Rimac develop a new generation of battery packs for BMW’s next-gen EVs.

Rimac Technology is a dab hand at designing tech destined for external customers including e-axles, ECUs, infotainment and advanced driver systems. The tie-up with BMW to build “high voltage battery units” for its “future model generations slated for the second half of the 2020s” (read: the Vision Neue Klasse X above and its successors) is its biggest customer project yet.

And because it’s such a big project, a “significant portion” of Rimac’s production lines in Zagreb, Croatia, have been assigned to BMW battery production. That’s a lot of batteries. And a lot of history, too…

“My business journey began with a 1984 BMW 3 Series that I converted into an electric car in my garage at the age of 20,” said boss Mate Rimac, “so it’s a perfect piece of symmetry to partner with the BMW Group.”

Neither Rimac nor BMW have revealed any further details on the collaboration – its form, scope or content – but separately BMW added that it’s getting ready to roll out the sixth generation of its own electric ‘eDrive’ powertrain. That, we’re promised, “will bring another significant leap forward in all customer relevant attributes, such as range and charging time”.