VOLKSWAGEN (VW) and Rivian Automotive named leaders for their multi-billion US dollar joint venture (JV) and showcased a prototype electric vehicle (EV), signalling their commitment even as global EV demand softens and the incoming Trump administration threatens to curtail supportive policies.
The two companies agreed in June to develop battery-powered vehicles together, with VW expected to invest as much as US$5 billion into Rivian. On Tuesday (Nov 12), VW boosted its investment plans by another US$800 million. That financial lifeline may ease concerns about Rivian’s cash burn and give the German carmaker access to its US partner’s software technology – an area where VW has stumbled.
Shares of Rivian rose 3.7 per cent in postmarket trading to US$10.97 as at 4.29 pm in New York. The stock closed regular trading on Tuesday down about 55 per cent this year.
The JV, known as Rivian and VW Group Technology, will be led by co-chief executive officers Wassym Bensaid, Rivian’s chief software officer, and Carsten Helbing, VW’s chief technology officer, the companies said in a joint statement. The co-CEOs will lead a dedicated group of about 1,000 engineers from both companies.
“This is an acceleration of our plans for the future,” Bensaid said.
Volkswagen aims to launch vehicles in 2027 with technology fine tuned by the JV. The companies also aim to develop an all-new software-defined vehicle with more advanced technologies, which they ultimately aim to license to other automakers.
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The prototype shown to a small group of reporters in Palo Alto integrates Rivian’s software-based vehicle architecture into an unmarked VW test vehicle, which Bensaid said was outfitted by the JV’s engineers in a 12-week period.
Helbing, who will also serve as chief operations officer of the venture, said the technology will be easily translatable to commercially available Volkswagen models at a similar pace. He added that kind of accelerated decision-making and development timeframe is a side benefit from the collaboration with a smaller and more nimble partner such as Rivian.
“For us, the impressive part was the speed and pace of implementation,” Helbing said. “The intention is to keep the pace.”
Bensaid said Rivian sees the venture as a way to boost cost savings by leveraging the scale economies enjoyed by its larger partner, and thereby improve its own vehicle margins.
VW’s new Scout brand also plans to use technology from the Rivian-VW JV, he said. BLOOMBERG
