During the first quarter of 2025, Rivian achieved a new gross profit of $206 million, through its sales of vehicles, software, and services. A second fiscal year in the black that it absolutely had to claim, while last year, the young American brand signed a contract with Volkswagen that included this condition.
Its signing with the German group last year allowed it to collect a jackpot: $5.8 billion invested in successive tranches. The next one is due in June: a new billion dollars that will be transferred from Volkswagen to Rivian, out of the remaining $3.5 billion to be transferred. The opportunity to invest, even if it means paying the price: once again, the first quarter of 2025 ended up with a net loss of $541 million.
Volkswagen's funds are well-suited to this: to no longer depend on other investors and to be able, thanks to fresh money, to accelerate production. Without achieving sufficient speed and volume, Rivian would be forced to sell its models at a much higher price, and would be unable to compete with the competition. In its time, Tesla was able to manage by getting ahead of competing manufacturers, which did not have an alternative electric model.
Volkswagen is not doing well and Rivian is not doing better
As a result, Rivian has unveiled two new models for 2026: the R2 and R3. They are expected to accelerate production, which has so far been limited to the R1S SUV, the R1T pickup truck, and a utility van. In 2024, its sales remained stable, at 51,579 units sold. 2025 could present itself as a lull due to Donald Trump's customs duties: Rivian is now only targeting between 40,000 and 46,000 sales during the year. We're looking forward to its new R2 and R3, as well as a better overview of its macroeconomic situation.
At Volkswagen, the funds invested have their counterparts. In addition to wanting to take advantage of Rivian's profitability, the German group also intends to take advantage of its technological advances, particularly in software. Volkswagen has closed its dedicated branch Cariad, the keystone of its digital strategy, essential to the future of autonomous and electric cars. Rivian is unlikely to be the only target, as last June, when the company announced its intention to invest up to $180 billion in future software technologies.
Financially struggling Volkswagen is aiming to achieve $4.2 billion in annual savings "in the medium term," following its agreement with its employees at the end of December for a job cut plan through 2030 (without plant closures). Rivian's situation is improving, as its losses amounted to $1.45 billion in the first quarter of 2024 alone. At the time, the company was still able to benefit from $9 billion in liquidity thanks to the original support of Ford and Amazon.
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