If just a few years ago we had been told that new players would shake up the established order in the automotive galaxy, we probably would not have believed it. However, with the advent of the electric car, certain historical players who have been operating for decades have been overtaken by “young young people”. We obviously think of Tesla, which notably succeeded in placing its Model Y at the top of the best-selling cars in the world in 2023. And we can now also take the example of Rivian, which is helping the largest automobile group in the world. , in difficulty with its battery-powered vehicles. Or when a start-up born in 2009 and which has only been selling its vehicles for three years now comes to the aid of a giant created in 1937 and has sold more than 10 million vehicles in 2023.
More shares than expected
In fact, the joint venture created between the two actors had already been announced last June. But if the amount initially mentioned was 5 billion dollars, the one specified on November 12 thanks to the formalization is ultimately 16% higher, at 5.8 billion dollars. Oliver Blume, CEO of Volkswagen, justified this amount by taking a stake in the capital of the top start-up.
The share itself is valued at 3.5 billion, the investment in the software development part is 1.3 billion, and the amount of the loan for the benefit of Rivian is maintained at 1 billion. This money is obviously welcome for Rivian whose accounts are in the red and which thanks to this, as declared by its CEO RJ Scaringe, will make it possible to launch the small compact R2 model, also planned for Europe. What about Volkswagen?
Catch up on the accumulated delay
By moving closer to Rivian, Volkswagen is able to reduce its lag in terms of electricity, which has notably led to poor sales figures and the recently announced social plans. The German seeks to adopt the know-how and mastery of the American start-up, particularly in one area: software. If VW does have a subsidiary that takes care of it, Cariad, it has experienced delays, notably on the launch of the Audi Q6 e-tron and electric Porsche Macan cousins. By combining their resources, Rivian and Volkswagen will be able to reduce the costs and time of developing a common software architectureand deploy new technologies more quickly.
Furthermore, it must be understood that Rivian has nothing to do with Scout, the brand of electric vehicles that Volkswagen has just revived. And this despite an almost uncanny aesthetic resemblance. And if the German group will continue to develop this new brand, it will still be able to benefit from Rivian software. This will again allow it to develop more quickly. Even if in fact, the Scout and Rivian, developed on different platforms, will indeed enter into competition. We now have to wait until 2026 at the earliest for the first effects of the joint venture between Rivian and Volkswagen with the launch of the Rivian R2, while the first Volkswagens to benefit from it will arrive in 2027.
