Rivian and VW have lately opened a partnership, regardless of the manufacturers have very comparable upcoming electrical journey automobiles with the Rivian R2 and VW Scout. However at a roundtable dialogue with Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe, he stated there’s greater than sufficient room for the manufacturers to coexist with one another.
Latest information about Rivian and VW’s software program partnership, with VW investing over $5 billion into Rivian and forming a three way partnership to undertake Rivian’s zonal structure for the underpinnings of VW’s car communications, has led to some fascinating questions on how the small print of the partnership would work out.
On the prime of many individuals’s minds has been: isn’t it a bit bizarre that the Rivian-like Scout model will now primarily be competing with itself for the journey EV market?
The query has been answered earlier than – or maybe extra particularly non-answered – in press conferences across the official opening of the three way partnership final week.
Usually, feedback ran alongside the road of Rivian working to deliver its software program experience to bear throughout VW’s manufacturers, although the 2 corporations have been a bit shy to verify whether or not Scout particularly would use Rivian’s software program. In any case, Scout is a little bit of a by-product from VW, and appears enthusiastic about exhibiting some independence on that entrance, so it might be doable that they work on their very own.
However in feedback at a roundtable which Electrek attended immediately forward of the LA Auto Present, it definitely appeared that Rivian shall be engaged on Scout automobiles. Scaringe stated that “we’re going to be supporting their full portfolio of manufacturers – Porsche, Audi, Volkswagen, Scout.”
Nevertheless, extra importantly, Scaringe stated that he’s “amused” by the main target that many have had on Scout, or those that contemplate it a possible risk to Rivian.
Scaringe estimates that there are “lower than 5” compelling EVs accessible for underneath $50k out there immediately – and that’s maybe being charitable. In the meantime, for those who go over to the fuel world, there are gobs of selections on the market for shoppers, and but all of them handle to coexist with out situation.
So Rivian has labored exhausting to differentiate itself from Tesla, for instance, and thinks that even when Scout is impressed by Rivian, there’s nonetheless room for comparable automobiles to coexist.
In any case, there are a lot of competing automobiles in lots of classes – a few of which do certainly share underpinnings from separate corporations. Simply within the EV area, the Kia EV6 and Hyundai Ioniq 5 share a platform, and the Subaru Solterra and Toyota bZ4X are mainly similar automobiles. So there was loads of historical past of corporations working collectively to come back out with comparable or near-identical (rebadged) vehicles.
That’s not the case right here, as Scout and Rivian shall be very completely different when it comes to platform and manufacturing. However sharing software program shouldn’t be a lot of a problem – and even if we assume that Scout may cannibalize a phase of the market that Rivian in any other case had maintain on, Rivian can nonetheless profit from the partnership regardlessl.
Rivian’s primary focus in recent times has been getting prices down. The story is that Rivian started scaling manufacturing in an especially troublesome time – attempting to prepare provide contracts on the historic peak of the auto trade (~2018), attempting to begin a producing program throughout a world pandemic (2020/2021), and having little clout accessible to get on the higher aspect of these contracts.
Now, Scaringe stated, the scenario is healthier: not solely can Rivian present that it has a dominant place in its class – promoting extra premium SUVs than different EV and even fuel manufacturers – however it may possibly additionally tout that it has assist from some of the established auto producers on the planet, Volkswagen. If VW – the second-largest automaker on the planet – has sufficient religion in Rivian to take a position $5.8 billion, then certainly a provider can belief that Rivian will stick round lengthy sufficient to purchase a couple of set of components.
Not solely that, however the corporations may probably leverage their mixed measurement for bigger provide contracts. Say a sure microcontroller is required for car structure throughout Rivian and likewise VW’s manufacturers, then maybe the three way partnership may acknowledge a lot bigger economies of scale.
The query additionally got here up over whether or not Rivian may attempt to see if VW’s world gross sales community may assist them to promote Rivians, however Scaringe shut that down, saying there may be “no curiosity” in doing so. Rivian would reasonably follow its plans of establishing its personal shops and doing direct gross sales.
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