Woah, Volkswagen will invest up to $5.8bn into US electric carmaker Rivian

Volkswagen will invest up to $5.8bn into Rivian as part of a new joint venture that’ll see them both working extremely closely on their future electric cars.

In short, it means Rivian can get a boatload of cash and Volkswagen’s scale to launch and evolve the R2 (pictured above) and other models. It also gives Volkswagen access to Rivian’s electric architecture and software tech for deployment in its own future EVs.

Indeed, Volkswagen has already tested out this e-hardware on an unnamed VW Group prototype to make sure all the electricity is sent to the right places, and the test was… successful.

“We’re thrilled to see our technology being integrated in vehicles outside of Rivian, and we’re excited for the future,” said Rivian boss RJ Scaringe. “Rivian will continue to stay focused on creating best in class products and services that benefit our customers, helping to drive EV adoption.”

VW boss Oliver Blume added: “We have a clear plan to offer our customers the best products and digital experiences at attractive prices through state-of-the-art development processes, innovative technological approaches, and a competitive cost base driven by synergies.”

So, Rivian will launch the R2 in the first half of 2026. It’s the first one spun off Rivian’s new midsize platform, shorter and narrower than a Model Y but a bit taller, and will arrive with single, dual and tri-motor versions.

The fastest one – the triple-motor R2 – will see off 0-60mph in just 3.0s. Prices for the R2 were originally targeted to start from $45k.

As for Volkswagen, it’ll get to use Rivian’s electrical toy box for cars scheduled for 2027. The joint venture will see both VW and Rivian develop the modular EV hardware, scaling it for different cars and different territories, and grow it to include “automated driving functions” and over-the-air updates in the future.

The joint venture will be headed up by Wassym Bensaid from Rivian, and Carsten Helbing from VW, working at first out of Palo Alto in California, but with an eye on developing three other sites in North America and Europe.