RV Tech, a joint venture between Volkswagen Group and Rivian, successfully completed its winter testing program this morning. The partnership was established in 2024 by the VW Group announced that he will invest $5.8 billion to the American electric car maker to acquire Rivia’s expertise in vehicle software and electronic architecture. VW Group initially paid Rivian $1 billion in cash, with additional payments made over time: the completion of the winter testing phase should unlock an additional $1 billion payment.
VW’s decision to turn to Rivian followed a turbulent history of its own in-house software development. This created a new section Developing software exclusively for cars in 2019, then immediately biting off more than it could chew by trying to develop operating systems for three different vehicles at the same time. Things went the other waySoftware delays on two new platforms, used by cars such as the VW ID.4 and Porsche Macan, led to the sacking of chairman Herbert Diess, and a third platform was delayed until the end of the decade.
Rivian, meanwhile, had no problem developing its car’s electronic architecture and software, starting from a clean slate unburdened by legacy generations. As a start-up automaker, Rivian needs money and Volkswagen needs better technology, so a joint venture makes a lot of sense.
To the Arctic Circle
Automakers love to test cars in the Arctic Circle. This is about as cold an environment as anyone will drive in, so if you can make your systems reliable in these extreme temperatures, they should be fine in milder winters. There are many frozen lakes with wide flat expanses ice thick enough to drive cars through without worrying. So you can test the chassis tuning and traction and stability control at the same time.
