Why the automotive industry needs to get the same attention as soccer in Croatia

Do you remember the FIFA World Cup 2018? And the enthusiasm shown back then by the Croatian President? That’s exactly the enthusiasm and commitment what I think is needed when it comes to the automotive industry in Croatia. 

If the car industry was a country, it would be the 4th largest economy in the world. Accounting for USD 4,060 bn in 2017, it would just sit above Germany in the global ranking. 

In a nutshell: The automotive industry holds an enormous economic and social potential. That’s why I joined Mate Rimac, founder and CEO of Rimac Automobili, when he hosted a meeting with Andrej Plenkovi?, Prime Minister of the Government of the Republic of Croatia, ministers and senior government officials yesterday in Rimac Automobili headquarters on the outskirts of Zagreb. From Porsche side, we wanted to support the initiative as Rimac's shareholders. But also for me personally it was a matter close to my heart to join the discussion and support as good as I can.

Maybe some of you remember that exactly one year ago, Porsche invested in Rimac Automobili by taking a minority shareholding of ten per cent. Mate Rimac and his today already more than 500 employees develop and produce electric vehicle components and manufacture electric super sports cars. For me, it was now the second visit at Rimac’s headquarter in Zagreb and it’s not an exaggeration to say that I’m really impressed what this small company is able to achieve and which amazing spirit you can feel there. Rimac is a company full of entrepreneurs. And of course, with Mate, they have a great role model who is leading the way.

Mate is a visionary. That’s how I got him to know. And this is for sure one reason why he rose the question why his home country Croatia could not be the destination for the next wave of investment in the new auto industry. 

 And if you ask me, this question is more than justified. To drop some more numbers: Each of the top 8 OEMs has greater revenues than Croatia’s GDP. Furthermore, the automotive supplier industry is of global significance, and in 2015 just the automotive supply industry was USD 2,000 bn and accounted for USD 147 bn total investment while employing 5 million people.

The good news: The future automotive industry brings a unique chance for Croatia as a country. It has now the chance to become a relevant location for the automotive industry on an international level and to make it attractive for automotive companies to invest. Croatia is a country full of potential.

There is very well educated talent and great know-how in engineering. But every year, 50.000 young people leave Croatia for other EU countries. In Croatia the unemployment rate is one of the highest in the EU with currently 7.3% and the youth unemployment rate is 20.9%. There’s the chance to avoid brain drain with a low-threshold access to support start-ups. Other examples are strong education in the fields of digitalization and Artificial Intelligence, a systematic quota system for new hires to minimize youth unemployment or to create a positive investment climate by creating special economic zones with less administrative restrictions or less tax requirements. And in my opinion, it needs further lighthouse projects, for example a Smart Factory, fully digitized, state of the art – this attracts then further investments of suppliers and manufacturing industry.

Besides the know-how and talent, Croatia as a country also has ideal conditions. It’s easy accessible what is important for logistic reasons and lies in the heart of Europe. It is part of the EU and fulfills nearly all criteria to join the Euro zone.

And it’s the home of Rimac, from my point of view an extremely promising young company that has already created more than 500 jobs. Support by the government is now essential for a successful development. The government needs to invest in education and the industry in order to be competitive and to earn Croatia’s presence on the automotive map.

I’m thankful for the very constructive discussion with the government that we had yesterday. I had the feeling that the representatives from the government and we as automotive industry really understood the other party’s needs and questions. Now the dialogue has to be continued and action must follow very soon. Then I hope that in the near future the automotive industry has the same attention as soccer got last year in Croatia.