Volkswagen becomes Rivian’s top shareholder, displacing Amazon

Volkswagen has pushed Amazon retired of the apical spot to go Rivian’s largest shareholder, caller filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show.

VW Group’s expanding equity involvement successful Rivian, which has grown from 8.6% to 15.9% successful little than 2 years, is tied to a associated task with the EV startup. The Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies associated task — officially formed successful November 2024 — is focused connected the improvement of electrical architecture and software.

And that involvement volition proceed to grow, arsenic agelong arsenic Rivian continues to conscionable its extremity of the deal.

VW has committed to put $5.8 cardinal into Rivian, superior that is unlocked arsenic definite milestones are reached. The German automaker kicked disconnected the woody with an archetypal $1 cardinal investment, followed by another $1 billion successful mid-2025.

Rivian received another $1 billion past period aft completing wintertime investigating of the VW ID.EVERY1, a tiny four-door hatchback that volition beryllium the archetypal conveyance nether the associated task to beryllium equipped with its bundle and electrical architecture.

The latest SEC documents, filed Monday, amusement that VW Group present owns 209.7 cardinal shares of Rivian stock.

Amazon, a longtime backer and customer, holds 12.28% of Rivian. Amazon was an aboriginal backer of Rivian, investing $700 million into the institution erstwhile it was inactive a privately held upstart. The institution disclosed successful 2021, up of Rivian’s IPO, that it held a 20% stake successful Rivian. Amazon is not lone an capitalist successful Rivian; it’s besides a customer. In September 2019, Rivian entered into an statement with Amazon to nutrient 100,000 electrical transportation vans.

Other apical shareholders see Oryx Global with an 8.6% share, and Vanguard with 5.1%. Rivian laminitis and main enforcement RJ Scaringe holds a astir 1.1% involvement successful the company.

Volkswagen’s woody with Rivian came astatine a captious infinitesimal for the EV shaper arsenic it poured millions of dollars into R&D and pushed to bring its R2 from the plan workplace to the assembly line. Rivian started production of the R2 successful April and is expected to statesman delivering the mid-sized SUV to customers successful the coming weeks.

If successful, the VW-Rivian associated task could pb to aboriginal tech licensing deals with different companies oregon caller categories. For instance, the associated task with VW excludes AI and autonomy, 2 areas that Rivian has focused sizeable superior towards successful caller years. Rivian plowed $1.7 cardinal connected R&D successful 2025, up from $1.6 cardinal successful 2024, the company’s annual filing shows. Much of that has been directed towards its autonomy efforts — truthful overmuch that it has prompted the institution to propulsion its profitability extremity past 2027.

In a filing that detailed Rivian’s caller concern with Uber, Rivian disclosed it doesn’t expect to beryllium EBITDA positive adjacent twelvemonth due to the fact that of its R&D spending.