Mate Rimac May Have The Solution To The Auto Industry's China Problem

1 week, 3 days ago - 8 October 2026, CarBuzz

Mate Rimac is often regarded as something of a visionary in the automotive world, so his words tend to carry some real weight when he shares his thoughts on certain subjects. In an Instagram post on Friday, he addressed the current struggles of legacy European automakers in light of stiff competition from China.

Bugatti’s new boss went on to explain that trying to beat Chinese manufacturers at their own game may not be the way to go. He believes manufacturers should focus less on outfitting their vehicles with huge screens and put more emphasis on exclusivity to stand out.

Rimac Doesn’t Encourage Fighting Fire With Fire

“The European automotive industry is in trouble, and now they’re running around paying tens of millions or hundreds of millions to consultants to get them out of it,” said Rimac. “I’ll save you the money. What you should not do is try to do what everyone else is doing and what the Chinese are very hard to beat at – the biggest screens, less buttons, faster recharge times. Don’t do that.”

He then explained what carmakers should focus on instead, pointing at the premium materials and exquisite features inside a classic Rolls-Royce. “Take leather, real materials, real stuff. Stuff like this. And yes, you can say, ‘Well, it’s a luxury car, it is not for everyone. They need to make a car for everyone.’ That’s where we disagree.”

To illustrate his point, Mate Rimac spoke of Swiss watchmaking as an example. “They don’t make a watch for everyone, but that’s where most of the profit is,” he said. “They just make 5% of the world’s watches, but 90% of the profits in watchmaking.” Those are valid points, for sure, but we have to ask ourselves whether they would hold up in the real world.

Are Rimac’s Suggestions Actually Realistic?

We agree with him to a great extent, and low-volume supercar brands like Ferrari should definitely take notes. But not every manufacturer is the same and neither are the clients they serve, so things may not be as simple as making European cars more luxurious and calling it a day.

High-volume models for a broader clientele can also be an important part of a company’s lineup, and you can’t always fix a complicated problem with a simple solution. Still, Mate Rimac is completely right in saying that traditional automakers from Europe shouldn’t forget their heritage and expect to just get away with copying China.