• VW has upped its investment in Rivian from $5 billion to $5.8 billion.
  • The joint venture will develop software and architecture to be used by both Rivian and the VW Group.
  • VW says it expects the first car equipped with the new software to debut in 2027.

In Europe, the Volkswagen Group is considering closing plants and forcing workers to take pay cuts to save the embattled company some money. But on the other side of the Atlantic, it’s splashing the cash, announcing this week that it is boosting its investment in Rivian to $5.8 billion.

Back in June, VW revealed that it would invest $5 billion in Rivian for a joint venture to develop an electrical architecture and software to be used on cars from both companies. VW’s own software arm, Cariad, has been a major PITA for the automaker in recent years, its mess-ups causing the launch of models like the Porsche Macan Electric to be delayed by a year.

Related: VW Committed To Scout Brand Despite $5 Billion Rivian Deal

The technology won’t be new from the ground up but based on Rivian’s existing systems. VW says its first car to use the new software will debut in 2027, and that the tech will be shared across the VW Group in various models from VW, Audi, Porsche, and the new Scout Motors. But it looks like Rivian will be the first to deploy the software if it manages to deliver its new small R2 in 2026, as promised.

Naturally, with that delivery date so close, work was well underway on the architecture before the two automakers formally launched Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC this week. Bloomberg reports that Rivian has shown some journalists a Volkswagen test vehicle that was adapted to use Rivian software in 12 weeks.

VW And Rivian Team Up To Develop EV Tech for 2027 Launch
Rivian R2 will launch with the software in 2026, a year before VW gets it

The new joint venture will use developers and software engineers from both companies and be headquartered at the outset in Palo Alto, California. But three other sites are reportedly in development both in North America and Europe.

Writing on Linkedin VW COO Arno Antlitz said that the two automakers’ strengths – VW’s scale and vehicle architecture expertise and Rivian’s best-in-class technology stack – made them ideal partners.