Volkswagen EVs to gain Rivian platforms

VOLKSWAGEN is set to take its partnership with Rivian to the next level, with a Yahoo Finance report this week revealing all future Volkswagen electric models will be underpinned by Rivian’s R2 mid-sized EV architecture.

Speaking with the publication, Rivian chief software officer and co-head of the Rivian-Volkswagen joint venture Wassym Bensaid said the duo will work together to see the R2 platform underpin as many products as possible.

Rivian’s upcoming R2 – a competitor similar in size to the Tesla Model Y – is a key part of that collaboration, said Mr Bensaid, providing modular, scalable architecture across a range of Rivian and Volkswagen products.

“R2 is the platform that will underpin actually all future EV products at VW,” he stated.

“It’s really that modular, scalable technology stack that we will take into VW brands, and we will do it in a way where we will still allow each of the brands to express their own identity.”

That platform and technology stack will allow Rivian to offer an almost off-the-shelf solution for Volkswagen to use beneath its forthcoming ID.1 – but the plan is such that the architecture would also feature across related Volkswagen Group brands, including Audi and Skoda.

“Each brand will have their own UI, look and feel,” continued Mr Bensaid.

“Each brand will have their own suspension tuning … but underneath, the guts of the vehicle will be optimised based on the same technology and software architecture.”

In discussing the Rivian R2, Mr Bensaid explained that production is set to begin in the first half of 2026, with the first examples rolling off the production line around mid-year.

“(The) R2 is an evolution of the architecture that we introduced with our (R1) Gen2 vehicles, and there’s a ton of lessons learned that went into how we make the R2 from a technology standpoint, from engineering (to) manufacturing,” he added.

“That is allowing us to really not only make progress, but we’re extremely happy with the maturity of R2 compared to where R1 was.”

Mr Bensaid said that developing the R2 for production has been easier and more efficient than the original R1.

“Everybody is waiting for the R2; everybody is excited about the R2,” he enthused.

“It is the absolute number one priority for the customer.”

GoAuto has reached out to Volkswagen for comment and will update this article in due course.