This Is The One Thing Rivian’s Partnership With VW Won’t Allow

Rivian has confirmed that despite its new partnership with Volkswagen, it has no plans to produce vehicles with the European automotive giant. Reports from German media claimed that the partnership would see Rivian’s new R2 SUV being built at VW’s South Carolina plant, which is currently under construction.

However, Rivian has refuted this, with a company spokesperson telling Reuters that “there are no plans for production of vehicles with Volkswagen Group.” Rivian originally planned to manufacture the R2 SUV at its new Georgia facility but has since decided to move production to Normal, Illinois. The first R2s are expected to roll off the assembly line in the first half of 2026.

No, VW Won’t Build Cars For Rivian

Volkswagen’s South Carolina facility will be used to produce the upcoming Scout EVs. The automaker broke ground on its new production center in Blythewood in February; Scout’s electric SUVs and trucks will be built at the new facility, with no plans to make anything else there. “We have not had any conversations about producing Rivian vehicles,” said a Scout spokesperson.

Add CarBuzz to your Google News feed.

Last week, the duo announced that Volkswagen would invest as much as $5 billion in Rivian as part of a joint venture. This would allow the companies to share EV technology, software, and electrical architecture. This generous cash flow injection will benefit Rivian, a relatively young startup that will benefit from Volkswagen’s know-how.

But Not Building Cars Isn’t The Same As Not Co-Developing Cars

Conversely, Volkswagen will gain access to electric vehicle technology, which legacy car brands often need help with. Using Rivian’s sophisticated software will also alleviate several software-related headaches, as VW’s Cariad division has had its fair share of delays and troubles. Because of the sharing of technology, we will still likely see Rivian tech in the upcoming Scout truck and SUV duo, and just because VW and Rivian won’t produce cars for each other doesn’t mean they won’t codevelop certain aspects of vehicles for one another.

Related

5 Reasons You Should Be Excited About Rivian And Volkswagen’s Partnership

VW and Rivian are joining forces. Here’s what the future might hold…

The last few months have been very busy for Rivian. Aside from revealing the smaller R2 and R3 crossovers, the automaker has also introduced the facelifted R1 series. Even though they look nearly identical to the outgoing vehicles, Rivian has substantially upgraded the electrical architecture, improved performance, and made several other revisions. There are also plans to introduce five new electric cars in the coming month, although the latest models are yet to be confirmed.

Source:
Reuters