Last last month, Rivian and Volkswagen announced that the two companies will be forming a joint venture to create next generation EV platforms, which will then be used in future electric vehicles from both brands. The motivating force behind this move is to accelerate the development of software as well, leaning on the strengths of both companies and lowering the effective costs associated with these developmental tasks. VW will utilize Rivian software in the short term and plans to funnel $5 billion into the EV automaker, but it seems as if the two will stop short of building actual vehicles together.
According to Reuters, Rivian has no plans to build vehicles with Volkswagen, despite some recent reports to the contrary, which indicated that the company may produce its upcoming R2 crossover at VW’s under-construction South Carolina plant. Instead, that model will be produced at Rivian’s Normal, Illinois plant, as well as at its future Georgia manufacturing facility at a later date.
This is particularly notable as Ford and Volkswagen entered into partnership agreement back in 2020 that has since seen the two share resources in a variety of ways, from platforms to actual production vehicles that are quite similar to each other. This pooling of resources is becoming more commonplace, and is precisely the motivating force behind the new Rivian and VW joint venture, as both companies have either laid off workers or revised future plans amid waning demand for EVs in general.
As for the future of Ford and Volkswagen’s partnership, it’s expected continue to grow and evolve, even if The Blue Oval pivots away from VW’s MEB platform as it develops a low-cost EV architecture of its own. At the same time, VW is also working on its own more affordable EV, which is expected to have a $22k price tag when it launches in the coming years.
We’ll have more on this joint venture soon, so be sure and subscribe to Ford Authority for 24/7 Ford news coverage.
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