The Daily Populous Wednesday June 26th, 2024 evening edition
Authored by bbc.com and submitted by disco_jim

VW to invest up to $5bn in Tesla rival Rivian

The tie-up will allow VW and Rivian to share technology

German car making giant Volkswagen (VW) says it will invest up to $5bn (£3.94bn) in Tesla rival Rivian.

The deal creates a joint venture that will allow VW and the US-based electric vehicle (EV) maker to share technology.

Rivian shares jumped by almost 50% after the announcement.

The tie-up comes as competition intensifies between EV makers and Western countries move to impose tariffs on Chinese imports.

Under the agreement, VW said it will initially invest $1bn in the electric truck and SUV maker, with another $4bn to be put into the company by 2026.

Founded in 2009, Rivian has not yet posted a quarterly profit. In the first three months of 2024 the company saw a net loss of more than $1.4bn.

VW, like other motor industry giants, has come under pressure from rivals like Tesla and China's BYD as it tries to make the shift from fossil fuel-powered vehicles.

Meanwhile, some EV start-ups have struggled to make headway in the highly competitive market and as higher interest rates hit demand for big ticket purchases.

The partnership will give VW immediate access to Rivian's software allowing the German car maker to use it in its cars.

Motor industry giants like VW have also been facing growing competition from Chinese EV makers, which have been expanding globally.

Earlier this month, the European Union (EU) warned that it will raise tariffs on Chinese EV imports by as much as 38%.

Officials from China and the EU have held talks ahead of a 4 July deadline.

A months-long investigation by the European Commission found that Chinese EV companies had been "unfairly subsidised".

In response, China said the tariffs violated international trade rules and described the investigation as "protectionism".

The plan came just a month after the US said it will increase import levies on Chinese EVs from 25% to 100%.

This week, Canada said that it was considering a similar move to align itself with allies.

Separately on Tuesday, Tesla said it would recall most of its Cybertrucks sold in the US over issues with their windscreen wipers and exterior trim.

The recalls cover more than 11,000 of the vehicles, which first went on sale at the end of November last year.

JohnnyGFX on June 26th, 2024 at 12:12 UTC »

Rivian has the added bonus of not being associated with Musk.

Leftblankthistime on June 26th, 2024 at 11:43 UTC »

Ford ceo recently said in an interview that he likes rivian- I expect ford will own a position soon too.

ep3ep3 on June 26th, 2024 at 06:48 UTC »

They need a software assist. VW completely botched their EV software and OTA ability rollout. It's utter garbage on every level. There are people with 3 year old cars that haven't seen an OTA update when promised them quarterly. Personally, my lemoned id4 bricked 3 modules due to software bugs with less than 600 miles on the odometer. Heaven forbid anything else breaks. People sometimes wait months for repairs due to lack of parts. I hope VWs garbage existence doesn't infiltrate Rivian's brand and culture. There's a few people on the id4 sub that didn't have their car for 6-9 months because of lack of parts, some of whom didn't even get a loaner and were expected to continue paying insurance and their loan/lease. The entirety of that company is a clown show in regards to EV. My lawyer told me VW paid for his kid's college tuition with all of the cases he has won against them.