Volkswagen has become Rivian’s largest shareholder, replacing Amazon

Volkswagen has pushed Amazon off the top spot to become Rivian’s largest shareholder, new filings with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission show.

The VW Group’s increasing stake in Rivian, which has grown from 8.6% to 15.9% in less than two years, is linked to a joint venture with the electric car startup. Joint venture Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies — It was officially formed in November 2024 -Focuses on developing electrical architecture and software.

This share will continue to grow, as long as Rivian continues to fulfill its part of the bargain.

Volkswagen has committed to investing $5.8 billion in Rivian, capital that is unlocked when certain milestones are reached. The German automaker initiated the deal with an initial investment of $1 billion, followed by… Another $1 billion In mid-2025.

Rivian received Another $1 billion Last month after completing the winter testing of VW ID.CL1a small four-door hatchback that will be the first vehicle under the joint venture to be equipped with its software and electrical architecture.

Latest SEC documentsfiled Monday, shows that VW Group now owns 209.7 million shares of Rivian stock.

Amazon, a long-time supporter and customer, owns 12.28% of Rivian. Amazon was an early supporter of Rivian. An investment of 700 million dollars In the company when it was still a privately owned startup. The company revealed in 2021, before Rivian’s IPO, that it had held 20% share In Rivian. Amazon isn’t just an investor in Rivian; He’s also a customer. In September 2019, Rivian entered into an agreement with Amazon to produce 100,000 electric delivery trucks.

Other major shareholders include Oryx Global, with an 8.6% stake, and Vanguard, with a 5.1% stake. Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe owns approximately 1.1% of the company’s shares.

Volkswagen’s deal with Rivian comes at a critical moment for the electric car maker as it has poured millions of dollars into research and development and pushed to bring the R2 from the design studio to the assembly line. Rivian Production started From the R2 in April, deliveries of the mid-size SUV to customers are expected to begin in the coming weeks.

If the joint venture between VW and Rivian is successful, it could lead to future technology licensing deals with other companies or new categories. For example, the joint venture with Volkswagen excludes artificial intelligence and autonomy, two areas on which Rivian has focused significant capital in recent years. Rivian will pump $1.7 billion into research and development in 2025, up from $1.6 billion in 2024, according to company estimates. Shows annual deposit. Much of that has been directed toward its autonomy efforts — so much so that it has prompted the company to push its profitability target beyond 2027.

In a detailed file Rivian’s new partnership with UberRivian revealed that he did not expect that to be the case EBITDA is positive next year due to its spending on research and development.