It turns out that the $5.8 billion investment by VW wasn’t just about utilizing Rivian’s software capabilities
The partnership between Rivian and VW is taking a new shape as all of the latter’s EVs will use the former’s architecture. We all know about the prominent $5.8 billion investment that the German car marque announced in Rivian. Initially, it was thought that this was for Rivian’s software and tech architecture. However, it is now said that all future VW EVs will use the R2’s platform.
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All Upcoming VW EVs Will Be Underpinned By Rivian Architecture
According to the latest interview of Rivian’s Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid, with Yahoo Finance, the American startup’s modular platform is slated to underpin every VW EV in the foreseeable future. He said, “R2 is the platform that will underpin actually all future EV products at VW. So it’s really that modular, scalable technology stack that we will take into VW brands, and we will do it in a way where we will still allow each of the brands to express their own identity.”
Interestingly, he mentioned “VW brands” in his interview, which suggests that the other carmaker under the Volkswagen umbrella will also benefit from this development. That is massive news. If we decipher it correctly, we might see Rivian’s architecture in the upcoming cars from Porsche, VW, Audi, Scout, Lamborghini, Skoda, etc. Note that Rivian will offer the R2 platform and tech stack to these electric cars going forward.
Rivian’s software architecture features a zonal architecture that consolidates complexity, reduces control units, and enables over-the-air updates. It will reduce the complexity of the current VW systems by drastically reducing the number of control units needed. Clearly, the German auto giant is readying itself for the future where technology will play a key role.
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Learn Electric Cars Says
This collaboration between Rivian and VW is bound to bear widespread consequences, especially if the brands under VW Group get involved. In any case, I appreciate the intent from the German legacy car marque to embrace the new-age tech and partner with one of the biggest EV start-ups in the world. We shall have to wait a bit to fully experience the fruits of this eminent tie-up.