Rivian‘s Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough pushed back against reports of difficulties at the company’s software joint venture with Volkswagen Group, telling investors the relationship is “very strong” and that the partnership is executing faster than the German automaker could have managed alone.
The comments were made amid the CFO’s participation at the J.P. Morgan 2026 Global Leveraged Finance Conference on Tuesday.
“We were incredibly proud to have delivered multiple vehicles back to Volkswagen at the end of 2025 for the start of winter testing, and that’s a testament to the extensibility of the software and electrical architecture that we’ve rebuilt, and the joint venture is leveraging for future vehicles as well,” McDonough said.
The comments come less than two months after German outlet Manager Magazine reported in January that the $5.8 billion partnership is falling short of expectations, with VW Group CEO Oliver Blume assembling a task force to address mounting delays.
The report cited integration difficulties, a mismatch between Rivian‘s EV-only software and Volkswagen‘s broader portfolio, and tensions over customization between Rivian‘s standardized approach and demands from Audi and Porsche for brand-specific features.
McDonough did not address the Manager Magazine report directly but emphasized the speed of the joint venture’s execution, saying Rivian adapted its second-generation architecture for multiple Volkswagen Group brand programs in 13 months.
“Which is multiple times faster than they would have ever been able to execute against working with their own supply base and ecosystem as a whole,” she said.
“So it showcases the speed and the utility of the foundation of the IP that sits at Rivian and now at Volkswagen Group as part of the joint venture as well,” the CFO added.
$2 Billion Expected in 2026
Of the $5.8 billion in total consideration pledged by Volkswagen, $2.5 billion remains outstanding.
McDonough reiterated that Rivian expects to receive $2 billion this year: $1 billion in equity tied to the successful completion of winter testing, and a $1 billion non-recourse loan later in the year.
The remaining $500 million is expected in 2027 as an equity investment.
Rivian received the first $1 billion equity tranche from Volkswagen last June at an effective price of $19.42 per share, a 33% premium to the 30-day volume-weighted average stock price.
‘Very, Very Strong’
The CFO’s remarks echo founder and CEO RJ Scaringe, who dismissed concerns about the partnership on the fourth-quarter earnings call on February 12.
“I’m very pleased that we have delivered vehicles for winter testing for multiple Volkswagen Group brands, 13 months after the formation of the joint venture,” he said, calling the relationship “very, very strong.”
“We had a great session, in fact, coincidentally last week with a broad set of the Volkswagen Group leadership team,” Scaringe added.
First Models and Software Revenue
The joint venture, named RV Tech, was established in late 2024.
Last November, the companies announced that fully electric models from Volkswagen, Audi, and Scout Motors would begin winter testing in Q1 2026.
Engineering prototypes of the VW ID.1 were already undergoing testing at RV Tech facilities in Palo Alto and Irvine, California.
The Scalable Systems Platform developed through the partnership is expected to be deployed on up to 30 million vehicles across multiple brands and price segments. Production of the ID.1 is expected to begin in 2027.
Rivian reported software and services revenue of $447 million in the fourth quarter, with approximately 60% — roughly $273 million — coming from the Volkswagen joint venture.
The first model to use the jointly developed architecture will be Rivian‘s own R2 mid-size SUV, with full specifications and pricing for the Launch Edition set to be revealed on March 12.
Unresolved Tensions
Despite the upbeat tone from Rivian’s leadership, questions remain about the partnership’s longer-term trajectory.
Manager Magazine reported that since Volkswagen is expected to produce gasoline-powered vehicles for longer than initially planned and Rivian’s software is designed only for pure EVs, the German automaker has kept its in-house software unit Cariad operating at an additional cost running into billions of euros.
Rivian‘s Chief Design Officer Jeff Hammoud acknowledged the customization tension in an interview with Edmunds late last year.
“We wouldn’t want a Rivian to feel like a Porsche or a Volkswagen or an Audi, or vice versa,” Hammoud said, noting that “depending on how you skin it and how you change it, it can really change the experience.”
Rivian has also clarified that its autonomy platform — including the in-house RAP1 processor and LiDAR hardware unveiled in December — is not part of the Volkswagen partnership.
Licensing Ambitions
Scaringe said on the earnings call that the partnership opens the door to licensing the software stack to other automakers beyond Volkswagen.
“And if you’re another car company, you couldn’t look at Rivian and say — maybe before you could have, but now you couldn’t — ‘Well, I don’t think you could do this at this price point,'” he said. “Well, actually we cover every price point across the spectrum.”
