Rivian (RIVN) and Volkswagen officially launch their new EV business partnership
Rivian (RIVN) and Volkswagen, an upcoming EV startup and one of the world’s largest automakers, are teaming up to accelerate the shift to electric vehicles.
In June, we learned Volkswagen would invest up to $5 billion to form a new joint venture with Rivian.
VW CEO, Oliver Blume, said the partnership is designed to “bring the best solutions to our vehicles faster and at a lower cost.” The legacy automaker will use Rivian’s software expertise to create a new EV archetecture for next-gen software defined vehicles (SDVs).
On Tuesday, Rivian and VW officially entered into an agreement to create their new joint venture, “Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC.”
The total deal size is up to $5.8 billion and is expected to start on November 13, 2024. Through the new partnership, Rivian and VW plan to bring a next-gen EV architecture and best-in-class software to both companies future EV models.”
Blume said, “Today’s launch of the joint venture demonstrates the potential we want to leverage together in the coming years.”
Rivian and VW finalize joint venture EV partnership
New models will cover all “relevant vehicle segments,” including subcompact cars.” The new JV will be led by Rivian’s chief software engineer, Wassym Bensaid, and VW Group’s Carsten Helbing.
The teams will initially be based on Palo Alto, California, with three additional sites coming in North America and Europe.
By combining Rivian’s software expertise and VW’s massive global scale, the JV plans to cut development costs and accelerate the scale of new tech.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said today’s announcement “marks an important step forward in helping transition the world to electric vehicle.” He added the company is “thrilled to see our technology being integrated in vehicles outside of Rivian.”
The JV plans to use the existing Rivian electrical architecture and software stack, enabling the launch of Rivian’s more affordable R2 in the first half of 2026. It will also be used to support the launch of the first Volkswagen EV from the JV as early as 2027.
Rivian and VW will scale the new tech across a wide range of price points and global markets, “paving the way for new generations of high-volume vehicles that are fully capable of advanced automated driving functions.”
Teams from both companies have already “successfully demonstrated the potential of their collaboration,” developing a drivable demo vehicle in just 12 weeks.
Volkswagen plans to invest up to $5.8 billion in Rivian and the new JV by 2027. A $1 billion investment in the form of a a convertible note has already been issued. At close, VW will invest roughly $1.3 billion for background IP licenses and a 50% stake in the JV. The remaining up to $3.5 billion will come in “the form of equity, convertible notes, and debt at future dates,” and will be based on performance targets.
Rivian’s stock price is up nearly 6% following the news in Tuesday’s after hours trading session. However, share prices are still down nearly 50% in 2024 and over 90% from their all-time high set in November 2021.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
On today’s sunny side up episode of Quick Charge, we take a look at the latest from the world of solar power, and discuss Congressional Republicans’ plans to limit your energy independence by eliminating a critical tax credit for homeowners nearly ten years early. (!)
We’ve also got a quick review of a massive solar farm powering 200,000 homes in Indiana and the biggest solar project East of the Mississippi – both part of a record 98% of all new power generation and grid capacity introduced in 2025 coming from wind and solar. Those are jobs, those are lower utility rates, those are energy independence … so why are Congressional Republicans working to make that more expensive?
Source Links
If you want to read that EnergySage report on the state of the home solar industry, including news about battery energy storage system and V2H/V2G prices and financing trends, you can check it out for yourself, below, then let us know what you think in the comments.
Prefer listening to your podcasts? Audio-only versions of Quick Charge are now available on Apple Podcasts, Spotify, TuneIn, and our RSS feed for Overcast and other podcast players.
New episodes of Quick Charge are recorded, usually, Monday through Thursday (and sometimes Sunday). We’ll be posting bonus audio content from time to time as well, so be sure to follow and subscribe so you don’t miss a minute of Electrek’s high-voltage daily news.
Got news? Let us know!
Drop us a line at tips@electrek.co. You can also rate us on Apple Podcasts and Spotify, or recommend us in Overcast to help more people discover the show.
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
A Waymo autonomous vehicle drives along Masonic Avenue on April 11, 2022 in San Francisco, California.
Justin Sullivan | Getty Images News | Getty Images
Alphabet’s Waymo unit has received approval to expand its autonomous ride-hailing service to more parts of the San Francisco Bay Area, including San Jose.
In March, the company submitted a request to the California Public Utilities Commission to gain approval for its latest passenger safety plan, a key step in gaining permission to operate driverless vehicles across a broader area. On Monday, the proposed expansion was approved, allowing for Waymo’s driverless coverage to extend from San Francisco down through the Peninsula.
“We’re very excited to share that the CPUC has approved our application to operate our fully autonomous commercial ride-hailing service in the South Bay and nearly all of San Jose!” the company wrote in a post on X on Monday. “While this won’t change our operations in the near-term, we’re looking forward to bringing the benefits of Waymo One to more of the Bay Area in the future.”
The $5 billion Empire Wind is back in business. The Trump administration’s Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) has lifted its stop-work order for Empire Wind, a major offshore wind project off the coast of New York led by Empire Offshore Wind LLC, a subsidiary of Equinor. Construction is now allowed to resume.
Equinor CEO Anders Opedal welcomed the news, saying the restart reinforces Equinor’s commitment to delivering clean energy while supporting local economies and saving thousands of jobs. He also credited a wide coalition of officials for helping get the project back on track, including Trump, New York Governor Kathy Hochul, and congressional leaders like Senator Chuck Schumer and Representative Dan Goldman. Opedal also thanked the Norwegian prime minister and the minister of finance for raising the issue with the US administration.
Governor Hochul said in a statement that “countless conversations with Equinor and White House officials” had taken place.
Neither the BOEM nor the Department of the Interior has issued a comment.
The Trump administration halted construction of the 54-turbine Empire Wind on April 16, but discussions between Equinor, regulators, and leaders at the federal, state, and city levels led to a reversal. That means Empire Wind can now push ahead with its goal of powering 500,000 New York homes with offshore wind energy.
“This project delivers on the energy ambitions shared by the US and New York by providing a vital new source of power to the region,” said Molly Morris, president of Equinor Wind US. She added that Empire Wind is boosting supply chain investments across the country, with activity in New York, Louisiana, Pennsylvania, Texas, and South Carolina.
Equinor plans to reassess the project’s financials in the second quarter. The goal is still to install turbines offshore in 2025 and hit full commercial operation by 2027. The company says it will work with suppliers and regulators to minimize any delays from the month-long pause.
Empire Wind was first awarded its offshore lease in 2017 after a competitive federal process. It received its final construction green light in early 2024 following an extensive environmental review. Construction kicked off shortly after, and the project is now over 30% complete.
The US is a major market for Equinor. The Norwegian energy giant says it has invested around $60 billion in US energy projects since the early 2000s, more recently in low-carbon solutions, critical minerals, and renewables. Empire Wind is one of its flagship projects in the US.
Read more: Trump admin halts $5 billion NY offshore wind project mid-build
If you’re considering going solar, it’s always a good idea to get quotes from a few installers. To make sure you find a trusted, reliable solar installer near you that offers competitive pricing, check out EnergySage, a free service that makes it easy for you to go solar. It has hundreds of pre-vetted solar installers competing for your business, ensuring you get high-quality solutions and save 20-30% compared to going it alone. Plus, it’s free to use, and you won’t get sales calls until you select an installer and share your phone number with them.
Your personalized solar quotes are easy to compare online and you’ll get access to unbiased Energy Advisors to help you every step of the way. Get started here.
FTC: We use income earning auto affiliate links. More.
-
Sports3 years ago‘Storybook stuff’: Inside the night Bryce Harper sent the Phillies to the World Series
-
Sports1 year agoStory injured on diving stop, exits Red Sox game
-
Sports2 years agoGame 1 of WS least-watched in recorded history
-
Sports2 years agoMLB Rank 2023: Ranking baseball’s top 100 players
-
Sports4 years ago
Team Europe easily wins 4th straight Laver Cup
-
Environment2 years agoJapan and South Korea have a lot at stake in a free and open South China Sea
-
Environment2 years agoGame-changing Lectric XPedition launched as affordable electric cargo bike
-
Business3 years agoBank of England’s extraordinary response to government policy is almost unthinkable | Ed Conway