In a recent interview with Yahoo! Finance, Wasim Ben Said, Chief Software Engineer at the American electric vehicle startup Rivian, revealed that Rivian will provide the core technology infrastructure for all future electric vehicles (EVs) of the Volkswagen Group. This announcement follows Volkswagen’s massive $5 billion investment in Rivian last year, aiming to leverage the American company’s expertise in software and electrical engineering. The collaboration has led to a joint venture allowing free exchange of intellectual property while maintaining brand independence.
Ben Said explained that Rivian’s upcoming R2 SUV will serve as the technological foundation for Volkswagen’s future EV platforms, while allowing each brand within the group to retain its unique identity. In other words, Audi’s technical platform may differ from Bentley’s or Lamborghini’s, but all will be built on the same electric architecture provided by the R2.
This partnership is welcome news for Volkswagen, especially after its internal technology division,car.software, faced setbacks including delays in launching Porsche and Audi EVs and staff layoffs. While Volkswagen has extensive mechanical engineering experience, its software engineering expertise is comparatively limited, and its electrical engineers face new challenges.
More Than Just Software: A Revolution in Electrical Architecture
Rivian offers more than a fast, bug-free infotainment system; it has revolutionized the car’s electrical system design. Starting with its 2025 R1T and R1S models, the company adopted a “Zonal Architecture” for its electrical systems, eliminating over 2.5 kilometers of wiring per vehicle and reducing weight by about 20 kilograms.
This architecture, first developed by Tesla, shifts from a fully centralized system to a decentralized one with regional zones that gather data from local electrical devices and send it to the central unit. This reduces the number of electronic control units (ECUs) from 17 to just 7, greatly improving vehicle management efficiency.
This new approach is sometimes called “Software-Designed Vehicles,” where software design leads and wiring is engineered to best support the software’s operation.
Volkswagen’s Challenges and Rivian’s Opportunity
Despite Volkswagen’s long automotive experience, this modern electrical engineering approach is new to them. Rivian, starting from scratch with a technology-first focus, has fully adopted the zonal architecture. However, Rivian faces financial constraints and continues to operate at a loss. Selling its intellectual property rights to Volkswagen for $5 billion was a smart move benefiting both parties.
The Volkswagen-Rivian partnership marks a strategic shift in the EV industry, with the German automaker leveraging Rivian’s software and electrical engineering expertise to accelerate its future EV development. By adopting a unified platform based on Rivian’s R2, Volkswagen’s various brands can maintain their distinct identities while benefiting from cutting-edge technology.
This collaboration highlights the challenges traditional automakers face in keeping pace with rapid EV and software advancements and underscores the importance of partnerships with tech startups to drive innovation and succeed in a changing market.
