According to new filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Volkswagen has surpassed Amazon to become Rivian's largest shareholder. Volkswagen Group's stake in Rivian has increased from 8.6% to 15.9% in less than two years. This shift is linked to a partnership within a joint venture with the electric vehicle startup, as reported by Techcrunch.com.
The Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies joint venture, established in November 2024, focuses on developing electrical architecture and software. Volkswagen has committed to investing a total of $5.8 billion in the project. The company has already allocated funds in several stages, including an additional $1 billion investment in Rivian following the completion of winter testing for the VW ID.EVERY1 model.
Currently, Volkswagen Group owns 209.7 million shares of Rivian. Amazon has dropped to second place with a 12.28% stake. Amazon was one of Rivian's early investors in 2019 and had placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans.
For Rivian, this partnership comes at a critical time as the company is investing heavily in the production of the R2 model and in research and development (R&D). Rivian has allocated $1.7 billion for research in 2025. In the future, this joint venture could pave the way for other technology licensing deals, although artificial intelligence and autonomous driving systems remain outside the scope of this partnership.
