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.
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Environment
U.S. crude oil falls below $60 a barrel to lowest since 2021 on tariff-fueled recession fears
A view shows disused oil pump jacks at the Airankol oil field operated by Caspiy Neft in the Atyrau Region, Kazakhstan April 2, 2025.
Pavel Mikheyev | Reuters
U.S. oil prices dropped below $60 a barrel on Sunday on fears President Donald Trump’s global tariffs would push the U.S., and maybe the world, into a recession.
Futures tied to U.S. West Texas intermediate crude fell more than 3% to $59.74 on Sunday night. The move comes after back-to-back 6% declines last week. WTI is now at the lowest since April 2021.
Worries are mounting that tariffs could lead to higher prices for businesses, which could lead to a slowdown in economic activity that would ultimately hurt demand for oil.
Oil futures, 5 years
The tariffs, which are set to take effect this week, “would likely push the U.S. and possibly global economy into recession this year,” according to JPMorgan. The firm on Thursday raised its odds of a recession this year to 60% following the tariff rollout, up from 40%.
Fueled by incentives from the Illinois EPA and the state’s largest utility company, new EV registrations nearly quadrupled the 12% first-quarter increase in EV registrations nationally – and there are no signs the state is slowing down.
Despite the dramatic slowdown of Tesla’s US deliveries, sales of electric vehicles overall have perked up in recent months, with Illinois’ EV adoption rate well above the Q1 uptick nationally. Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the number of new EVs registered across the state totaled 9,821 January through March, compared with “just” 6,535 EVs registered in the state during the same period in 2024.
Those numbers represent more than 50% growth in EV registrations – far beyond the expected 12% first-quarter increase nationally being projected by Cox Automotive. (!)
What’s going on in Illinois?
While President Trump and Elmo were running for re-election, they campaigned on the threat promise of canceling the $7,500 federal tax credit for EVs. Along with California Governor Gavin Newsom, Illinois’ Governor JB Pritzker made countermoves – launching a $4,000 rebate for new electric cars and up to $1,500 for the purchase of a new electric motorcycle.
At the same time, the state’s largest utility, ComEd, launched a $90 million EV incentive program featuring a new Point of Purchase initiative to deliver instant discounts to qualifying business and public sector customers who make the switch to electric vehicles. That program has driven a surge in Class 3-6 medium duty commercial EVs, which are eligible fro $20-30,000 in utility rebates on top of federal tax credits and other incentives (Class 1-2 EVs are eligible for up to $7,500).
We covered the launch of those incentives when the program was announced at Chicago Drives Electric last year, but the message here is simple: incentives work.
SOURCES: Chicago Business, Ray Cunningham; featured image by the author.
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The electric construction equipment experts at XCMG just released a new, 25 ton electric crawler excavator ahead of bauma 2025 – and they have their eye on the global urban construction, mine operations, and logistical material handling markets.
Powered by a high-capacity 400 kWh lithium iron phosphate battery capable of delivering up to 8 hours of continuous operation, the XE215EV electric excavator promises uninterrupted operation at a lower cost of ownership and with even less downtime than its diesel counterparts.
XCMG is delivering on part of that reduced downtime promise with the lower maintenance and easier repair needs of electric equipment, and delivering on the rest of it with lickety-quick DC fast charging that can recharge the machine’s massive battery in 1.5-2 hours … but that’s not the slick bit. The XCMG XE125EV can be powered up without leaving the job site thanks to its BYD battery swap technology.
We first covered XCMG and its battery swap technology back in January, and covered similar battery-swap tech being developed by MOOG Construction offshoot ZQUIP, as well – but while XCMG’s battery tech has been in production for several years, it’s still not widely known about in the West (even within the industry).
XCMG showed off its latest electric equipment at the December 2024 bauma China, including an updated version of its of its 85-ton autonomous electric mining truck that features a fully cab-less design – meaning there isn’t even a place for an operator to sit, let alone operate. And that’s too bad, because what operator wouldn’t want to experience an electric truck putting down 1070 hp more than 16,000 lb-ft of torque!?
Easy in, easy out
The best part? All of the company’s heavy equipment assets – from excavators to terminal tractors to dump trucks and wheel loaders – all use the same 400 kWh BYD battery packs, Milwaukee tool style. That means an equipment fleet can utilize x number of vehicles with a fraction of the total battery capacity and material needs of other asset brands. That’s not just a smart use of limited materials, it’s a smarter use of energy.
You can check out all the XE215EV’s specs at this tear sheet, and get an in-person look at the Chinese company’s latest electric excavator this week in Munich, Germany.
SOURCE | IMAGES: XCMG.
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