Battle For EV Supremacy: German Carmaker Volkswagen Invests $5 Billion In Tesla's Rival Rivian

The battle for supremacy in the electric vehicle arena is only getting tighter.

While many major big names and legacy players of the automobile world, including Ford and General, have taken a step back in the EV revolution, leaving more room for the likes of Tesla and China's BYD, some are still harbouring ambitions to dominate this sector, which has seen a meteoric rise in the recent past.

Volkswagen Invests USD 5 billion

German car-making giant Volkswagen, in a recent development, has made strides in the same direction and will be investing USD 5 billion into American EV maker Rivian.

The California-based company is said to be a potential indigenous rival for another US EV maker, Tesla. Rivian is particularly known for its futuristically idiosyncratic-looking vehicles, particularly the R1S.

Volkswagen will be infusing a lot of USD 3 billion directly into the company, and the remaining USD 2 billion will be used to instate a joint venture to produce vehicles.

It is to be noted that Rivian is partly owned by Jeff Bezos's Amazon, which has an 18 per cent stake in the company. In 2019, Rivian even got a massive deal from its investor to manufacture vans for the e-commerce giant.

Rivian Shares Rise

Despite the promise the company has shown, Rivian has not exactly been a money-making engine. Therefore, according to the deal, Volkswagen will convert to Rivian common stock after its USD 1 billion.

The German company would follow it with subsequent rounds of investment, with an infusion of USD 1 billion in 2025 and 2026, respectively.

The current EV market is dominated by Tesla, with a major market share; it is followed by Chinese EV makers, which've seen a meteoric rise in the recent past, that is a close second.

In the past 5 days alone, Rivian shares, listen on Nasdaq, have jumped 25.01 per cent or USD 2.79, closing at USD 13.92 on Monday, July 2.