A new robotaxi service is coming to Croatia, courtesy of Rimac, the country’s largest supercar company. The service will be called Verne, named after French writer and poet Jules Verne, and will launch in Zagreb in 2026, the company said.
It’s an interesting pivot for a company that has been on a rocket trajectory in recent years. Founded by Mate Rimac in a garage as a one-man company, Rimac has since become a highly sought-after brand, with many legacy carmakers turning to the startup to help them build their own electric supercars. In addition to creating the record-breaking Nevera hypercar, Rimac also took control of Bugatti from Volkswagen in 2021, in a surprise move that created a new company called Bugatti Rimac.
And now the electric hypercar company, which produces a speed of 410 km/h, is getting ready to launch its own robotaxi. I assure you this is less random than it may seem at first glance. Rimac has been working on autonomous technology since 2017 and in 2021 the company received €200 million from the EU to develop robotaxis as part of a €6.3 billion recovery plan for Croatia. (The stimulus package prompted widespread criticism of the company, including a member of the Croatian parliament calling Mate Rimac a fraudster and “the Balkan Elizabeth Holmes.”) The company has also received funding from Hyundai and Kia.
Today Rimac wants to prove that the money is not lost. The newly renamed Verne, previously called Project 3 Mobility, will be led by Rimac’s friend Marko Pejković as CEO and Nevera’s designer Adriano Mudri as lead designer. The company said it chose to honor the author of classics Twenty thousand leagues under the sea And Travel to the Center of the Earth because “he used the theme of travel as a driving force in his stories.”
The robotaxi will be fully electric and rely on autonomous technology from Mobileye, the Intel-owned company that supplies autonomous and advanced driver assistance technology to many automakers. Verne will use Mobileye Drive, a self-driving system that uses Israeli companies’ EyeQ system-on-a-chip, as well as a data crowdsourcing program called Road Experience Management, or REM, which uses real-time data from Mobileye. -equipped vehicles to build a global 3D map.
The vehicle is fully autonomous at level 4, meaning it lacks traditional controls such as a steering wheel and pedals. Also gone are other familiar touchstones, such as windshield wipers and side mirrors, in the interest of reducing drag and improving the aerodynamic experience.
Verne’s first vehicle looks radically different from most self-driving cars on the road today. Rather than opting for a retrofitted minivan or a toaster-shaped shuttle with protruding sensors, the Verne robotaxi is sleeker and much smaller, with the overall appearance of a two-door hatchback. The large greenhouse and sloping windshield enclose an interior that is more luxurious than the average robotaxi. And the vehicle’s two sliding doors are certainly eye-catching, with Rimac saying they’re designed for easy access.
The decision to go for a two-seater may seem odd to some, as many robotaxi operators use larger capacity vehicles. After all, more seats means more fares, and therefore more income. But Verne’s lead designer Mudri cites data showing that “9 out of 10 rides are used by 1 or 2 people. That’s why we can complete most journeys with a two-seater and create unparalleled interior space in a compact vehicle.”
Reducing the number of seats makes for a roomier, more luxurious ride, Verne says. But the company’s robotaxis won’t just be accessible to the super-rich; in a statement, Mate Rimac promised that Verne’s autonomous ride service will be “affordable for everyone.”
Without a steering wheel or other clumsy controls, Rimac was able to go big on the inner screen. The 43-inch display spans almost the width of the dashboard and includes widgets for media, cabin controls and weather. The central widget is dedicated to navigation, with a design similar to Tesla or Waymo, with an illuminated line extending from the virtual vehicle to help the rider keep track of the journey.
Verne says riders can listen to their own music or watch movies on the widescreen display. There are seventeen speakers spread throughout the vehicle, including a Dolby Atmos sound system.
The robotaxi can be summoned via a mobile app, just like Uber or Waymo. Through the app, customers can adjust certain settings, such as temperature, lighting and even scent, before their vehicle even shows up. All vehicles are connected at the rear, allowing Verne to optimize fleet management tasks.
Verne says it will build centrally located vehicle depots, called “Motherships,” in the cities where it operates. These will become hubs where the robotaxis can be cleaned, charged and maintained. The vehicles themselves will be produced in a yet-to-be-built factory in Croatia.
After Zagreb, Verne says it will roll out its robotaxi service in other European cities – first in Britain and Germany, and later in the Middle East. Although some companies have tested autonomous vehicles in Europe, a commercial service still seems far away. Meanwhile, Alphabet’s Waymo operates in several major cities in the US, and Baidu similarly operates hundreds of self-driving cars in China.
Verne is working to become the first major robotaxi operator outside of these two countries. The company has already signed agreements with 11 cities in the EU, the UK and the Middle East, and is in talks with more than 30 cities worldwide. And it aims to “complement public transport, not compete with it.”
“In the longer term, Verne should eliminate the need for a second or third car in the household, which takes up parking spaces, is rarely used and is a significant expense,” the company said.