All Future Volkswagen EVs Will Be Rivians
Volkswagen Group’s $5 billion partnership with Rivian just became much more important.
Key Points
- Rivian’s R2 platform will serve as the core software and electrical architecture for all future Volkswagen Group EVs, including brands like VW, Audi, Porsche, and Lamborghini.
- The move replaces VW’s troubled Cariad-developed systems, which have caused delays and regulatory issues, signaling a major shift in the company’s software strategy.
- Despite the shared platform, each brand will retain its unique user interface, tuning, and design identity, allowing for differentiation while benefiting from Rivian’s scalable technology stack.
Rivian’s Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid, confirmed that the modular, zonal platform expected to debut in Rivian’s R2 SUV will become the backbone of Volkswagen’s future electric vehicle offerings as the automaker moves away from the troubled legacy architecture developed by Cariad, its in-house software unit.
This is expected to include not only the VW brand itself, but also Audi, Porsche, Skoda, Seat, Lamborghini, and potentially even Scout. The architecture is being pitched as a scalable foundation, shared at the core but with enough flexibility to allow for brand-specific tuning, UI design, and driving characteristics.
"R2 is the platform that will underpin actually all future EV products at VW," Bensaid said in an interview with Yahoo Finance. "So 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."
The first vehicle expected to benefit will be the upcoming entry-level VW ID1. It couldn't come at a better time for VW, as the company attempts to overcome a brutal stretch of software-related headlines—Cariad has been at the center of several high-profile regulatory failures.
Last year, software compliance issues led to the suspension of multiple popular models in Europe, including the Audi TT and several Porsches, including the much-loved 718 family and the combustion-powered Macan, due to an inability to meet cybersecurity standards under UN Regulation 155.
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An experienced automotive storyteller and accomplished photographer known for engaging and insightful content. Michael also brings a wealth of technical knowledge—he was part of the Ford GT program at Multimatic, oversaw a fleet of Audi TCR race cars, ziptied Lamborghini Super Trofeo cars back together, been over the wall during the Rolex 24, and worked in the intense world of IndyCar.
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