Volkswagen has taken a major stake in electric vehicle (EV) startup Rivian, pushing Amazon from the top shareholder position. With an equity stake growing to 15.9%, VW Group now owns 209.7 million shares of Rivian.
The joint venture between VW and Rivian focuses on electrical architecture and software development, with VW committing $5.8 billion in investments as certain milestones are achieved. Rivian received an additional $1 billion last month after completing winter testing for the ID.EVERY1, a vehicle that will be equipped with both firms’ technology.
Rivian’s founder, RJ Scaringe, holds only 1.1% of the company, while Amazon still retains a 12.28% stake and remains a customer through an agreement for 100,000 electric delivery vans. Rivian is set to start delivering its midsized SUV in the coming weeks after beginning production in April.
The partnership could lead to future tech licensing deals with other companies or new categories, excluding AI and autonomy from the joint venture scope despite Rivian’s significant investment in these areas. With R&D spending increasing year-on-year, Rivian forecasts no EBITDA profitability next year due to ongoing development costs.
