As its joint venture with Rivian completed its one-year anniversary on Wednesday, Volkswagen Group has released an update on the progress.
Exactly a year ago, the two automakers formalized their partnership, with the German company committing $5.8 billion to the EV maker.
Volkswagen will adopt Rivian‘s zonal architecture and software stack for its future electric vehicles.
The Scalable Systems Platform (SSP) is expected to be used on up to 30 million vehicles across multiple brands and price segments of the Group.
Winter Testing in 2026
According to the German Group, fully electric models from its brands Volkswagen, Audi, and Scout Motors will begin winter testing in the first quarter of 2026.
The test will assess the performance of software-defined vehicles in extreme cold conditions.
Volkswagen also revealed that engineering prototypes of the ID.1 are already undergoing testing at RV Tech’s facilities in Palo Alto and Irvine, California.
The compact is expected to be the first VW model to debut the software. Production is expected to begin in 2027.
Additionally, Rivian‘s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe shared on Tuesday new images of the R2 SUV undergoing winter testing.
This timing aligns with earlier reports indicating that the R2 would be the first model to test the jointly developed software.
1,500 Employees
Volkswagen also revealed that the joint venture counts with over 1,500 employees and operates in the US, Canada, Sweden, Serbia and, as of recently, Germany.
The German automaker concentrates most of its human resources in Europe, where it has a larger network, while Rivian‘s efforts are primarily in the US.
The joint venture has also established a development team in Canada earlier this year.
The ‘RV Tech’ entity is headquartered in Palo Alto, California — where Rivian maintains substantial operations focused on autonomy, AI, software, and hardware development.
Tension Points
Last month, Volkwagen brand’s Kai Grünitz, a Member of the Board of Management responsible for Technical Development, characterized Rivian as “a small company with just one project in one region, coming together with a group of 10 different brands from all over the world.”
While praising certain aspects of Rivian‘s approach, Grünitz was frank about its limitations.
“Their software is not perfect,” he acknowledged, “but it’s a really good starting point.”
A month before, German outlet Manager Magazin had reported that the relationship between the two companies suffered potential friction.
VW is considering expanding its internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle lineup amid cooling global enthusiasm for electric vehicles, while Rivian has no interest in developing software for traditional combustion engine models.
Q3 Results
Last week, Rivian reported its third quarter earnings results, surpassing Wall Street expectations.
Management disclosed that about $214 million (about half) of the total Software and Services revenue came from the Volkswagen joint venture.
The EV maker received the first two $1 billion tranches of VW’s $5.8 billion investment in the first and second quarters, after reporting a positive gross profit in both periods.
The company now expects an additional $1 billion equity infusion in 2026, a $1 billion loan in October 2026, and roughly $460 million in equity either in January 2028 or upon the start of joint vehicle production.
If all thresholds are achieved, Volkswagen is expected to surpass Amazon as Rivian‘s largest shareholder.
As of June 30, Volkswagen held 146 million Rivian shares, while Amazon maintained its 158 million-stake.
