SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) -Rivian on Tuesday mentioned it had no plans to provide automobiles with Volkswagen after a media report mentioned the U.S. electrical car maker was in early talks with the German automaker to increase a latest partnership past software program.
Shares of Rivian dipped 1.5% in prolonged commerce.
German newspaper Handelsblatt reported on Tuesday, citing folks acquainted with the matter, that an prolonged partnership would possibly embrace producing Rivian’s smaller and cheaper R2 SUVs at VW’s South Carolina plant that’s at the moment being constructed.
“There aren’t any plans for manufacturing of automobiles with Volkswagen Group,” a Rivian spokesperson mentioned in an e-mail to Reuters. Volkswagen declined to touch upon the media report and mentioned its clear focus was on the JV.
Rivian has not modified its plans to start out producing the R2 at its manufacturing facility in Regular, Illinois, adopted by manufacturing at a deliberate Georgia plant, the Rivian spokesperson mentioned.
The businesses mentioned final week that VW would make investments as much as $5 billion in Rivian as a part of a deal to share electrical structure and software program – a giant shot within the arm for the startup amid slowing EV demand. For VW, the JV provides a lot wanted EV know-how that conventional automakers have struggled to construct.
VW has mentioned it plans to provide its Scout-branded electrical SUVs and pickups on the South Carolina plant from 2026. A spokesperson for Scout Motors mentioned, “We’ve not had any conversations about producing Rivian automobiles.”
(Reporting by Abhirup Roy in San Francisco and Victoria Waldersee in Berlin; Modifying by Cynthia OstermanAdditional reporting by Noel Randewich in Oakland, CaliforniaEditing by Matthew Lewis)
