Bugatti CEO Bets on Combustion as Supercar Market Shifts

The automotive landscape is fracturing into two distinct realities. Mainstream buyers are increasingly served by lower-priced electric vehicles, frequently sourced from China. Conversely, the pinnacle of the supercar market is trending toward emotional, high-performance machinery that prioritizes visceral experience over electronic efficiency.

Rimac draws a direct parallel to the horological industry, where digital smartwatches dominate volume but mechanical timepieces command extreme value. By his estimation, while 95% of watches are not Swiss-made, the remaining 5% capture nearly 90% of the sector's profits. He believes supercars will follow this trajectory: an Apple Watch may offer superior functionality, but it lacks the enduring prestige of a hand-crafted mechanical movement. Consequently, he expects combustion engines to remain the standard for high-end sports cars for the foreseeable future, catering to a clientele that values precision engineering and legacy over technological convenience.