Zagreb, 20 September 2024 - Verne, a Croatian startup developing a new ecosystem of urban autonomous mobility, is entering a new development phase and intensifying activities in all business areas. After the design prototype, service concept, and new brand were presented to the public in June, Verne continues to develop all three key elements of their future service: a fully autonomous electric vehicle, user application, and specialised infrastructure.

Verne, together with its AD technology partner Mobileye, is testing an autonomous driving system (with a safety driver) in Zagreb. The company is finalising preparations for the start of the construction its production facility for autonomous electric vehicles in VGP Park Zagreb, on an area of 28,500 square meters. Additionally, the construction of the first "Mothership" - a centre for maintenance, charging, and cleaning of Verne vehicles in Zagreb - is underway.

Darren Gwynne - New Chief Executive Officer

Verne is also strengthening its management team with Darren Gwynne, an expert with more than 30 years of experience in the automotive industry. Gwynne will take over as Verne's new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). Before joining Verne, Gwynne spent most of his career in leading positions at Honda, the global automotive giant.

Gwynne has been a member of the Verne team since mid-2020, and for the past two years, he has served as the company's Chief Operating Officer and Director of Verne's UK office in Wellesbourne. His valuable experience in the industry includes managing the entire supply chain and serial production of motor vehicles, relations with business clients and partners, as well as leading strategic projects and multinational teams, with an emphasis on the operational and financial efficiency of the organisation.

Alongside Gwynne, former CEO Marko Pejković, one of the founders along with Mate Rimac and Adriano Mudri, continues leading as a member of the Management Board and Chief Business Officer (CBO). Pejković will focus on further growth and development of the business and the global positioning of the company.

"We believe that Darren's experience in setting up serial production of motor vehicles is crucial in the development of our company at this stage. We continue to strengthen our organisation in accordance with project development, taking into account that the scale of our efforts will only increase, and our most demanding challenges are ahead of us. We are fully focused on further developing all elements of our service, on testing our fully autonomous vehicle and its autonomous driving system, and on building our infrastructure - including the Mothership to the first Verne factory in Zagreb. This will set the foundations for additional investments in our project, having already secured 100 million euros from private investors. We expect the next series of investments to significantly exceed the amount already collected, and to further accelerate our development. Investor relations and launching the service in Zagreb are parts of the business that I will focus on, given my experience in that area," said Marko Pejković, founder and CBO of Verne.

"First I would like to thank the Co-Founders Mate, Adriano and Marko for allowing me this opportunity.I am extremely humbled and proud to be part of a team that is developing such a unique project on a global scale.

Croatia and Zagreb are now on the map of world metropolises developing autonomous mobility solutions alongside cities like San Francisco and Chinese megacities, where autonomous vehicles are seen as an exponential leap in urban mobility development.

My priority is to continue leading the team through the achievement of our business objectives, and provide customers with a safe, effortless, and personalised urban mobility experience," said Darren Gwynne, the new CEO of Verne.