All automakers must think about the development of the electric car. Including high-end players like … Bugatti. The famous company based in Molsheim (Bas-Rhin) could work on a first model powered by battery. This was announced by the president of the company, Stephan Winkelmann, Monday, October 18.
“A difficult fight”
“The industry is fundamentally changing and we need to ask ourselves what are the opportunities to develop Bugatti as a brand moving forward,” argues Stephan Winkelmann in an interview with Bloomberg.
President of Bugatti since January 2018, Stephan Winkelmann states that discussions are ongoing with his parent company Volkswagen on the subject. Bugatti must convince the German group to make such an investment. The financing of the site represents “a difficult fight”, according to the confession of the leader of the Alsatian brand.
A car between 500,000 and 1 million euros
To swap W16 engines for batteries, a heresy? This is not the first time that the boss of Bugatti mentions the project. In June, he already mentioned a possible second model 100% electric and less expensive. “A car for every day”, explained then the president which seems to confirm this way.
At the Bloomberg agency, he talks about a possible “grand tourer” or crossover electric car that could house four people. Its price would be between 500,000 and 1 million euros, well below The Black Car, the most expensive new car in the world today.
At least four years of development
Even if Volkswagen gives the green light to the project, it will undoubtedly be patient before observing a 100% electric Bugatti on the roads. In September, Stephan Winkelmann estimated that the project would require four years “for the development and construction of a new workshop for assembly, possible in Molsheim, and hiring,” according to statements reported by The gallery. “We should stay below 1,000 copies a year,” he added without much surprise for a company that delivered 76 cars in total in 2018.
Is Bugatti Square in the electric vehicle? The high-end identity and past concerns of the brand’s profitability could deter Volkswagen from investing. All the same, the project keeps a certain logic at a time when the German group wants to defend its reputation in engineering while leading the transition to the electric vehicle. In November, Volkswagen announced the investment of $ 66 billion until 2024 in electric mobility and digital transformation.
If the project is not done, fans of electric vehicles can console themselves with two other “cars” Bugatti electric: the Bugatti Baby II with a maximum power of 10 kW and the Bugatti Chiron Lego version powered by 2304 small engines.