Yahoo Finance Porsche-backed start-up to launch self-driving taxi in UK
A Porsche-backed start-up has unveiled plans to launch a self-driving taxi in Britain in the race to rival Elon Musk’s “Cybercab”.
The Rimac Group unveiled its new two-seater car just outside of its hometown in Zagreb, Croatia, on Wednesday.
The vehicle has no steering wheel, no pedals and is advertised as having an interior “like a living room” with a wide screen to watch film and TV.
Mate Rimac, the group’s 36-year-old founder, said that when the car hits the roads of Zagreb in 2026 passengers will “have a safe and reliable driver” and more comfort “than the best limousines”.
The UK and Germany will be the first countries outside of Croatia to use the cars, the company said, adding that it has already signed agreements with 11 cities.
The launch of the automated taxi, called Verne after the adventure novelist Jules Verne, comes just a month after UK motorists were told by the Government that self-driving cars could be on the roads by 2026.
It also comes two months before Tesla is set to introduce its own fully autonomous robotaxi or “Cybercab”. Mr Musk has shifted the company’s focus towards a bet on robotaxis, amid increased competition from cheaper Chinese electric vehicles (EVs).
Mr Rimac has previously told The Telegraph that Mr Musk was “not an inspiration but today I have great respect for the guy”.
The two have made comments about each other’s cars on social media in recent years and were sat next to each other at a dinner in Manhattan in 2022. Mr Rimac described the experience on his Facebook page as “fun ... and intense”.
Mr Rimac started his career by inventing a high-tech glove that acted as a keyboard and mouse, which went on to win an international design competition.
He told The Telegraph in 2020: “It was 2005 and I saw that one day devices would be more connected to the internet. People thought the idea was mad.”
The Rimac Group, whose investors now include Porsche and Goldman Sachs, started out by supplying electrical components to the likes of Mercedes and Porsche.
