• Rivian R2’s tech stack will underpin all future EVs at Volkswagen, according to a Rivian exec.
• VW’s ID Every1 will be the first vehicle to use an off-the-shelf version of the R2 platform.
• The tech will also be available for VW’s child brands like Audi and Porsche to use.

The $5 billion software partnership between newcomer EV startup Rivian and German heavyweight Volkswagen just took a very interesting turn.

Not only will the Volkswagen Group have access to a shared software platform to help close the Cariad-shaped gap in its vehicles, but it turns out that the platform that underpins Rivian’s upcoming SUV will actually become the official digital brain of all future Volkswagen-branded EVs.

Everything Volkswagen touches in the EV space will now be humming along on the same platform and tech stack that will be used as the building blocks for the highly anticipated Rivian R2.

Photo by: Rivian

That news comes straight from Rivian’s Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid. In an interview with Yahoo Finance, Bensaid noted that the R2’s modular platform is set to be the secret sauce that makes up every single Volkswagen EV in the foreseeable future.

Yes, you read that right—the R2’s DNA will be in not just one future product, but all of Volkswagen’s new battery-powered models moving forward. That all starts with the upcoming affordable VW Every1 (which will have a new name by the time it releases), which will use an off-the-shelf version of the zonal architecture, and then trickle into newly-released models thereafter.

Here’s what Bensaid revealed:

R2 is the platform that will underpin actually all future EV products at VW. 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.

Notice the last bit of Bensaid’s quote. He mentioned that “each of the brands” will have the ability to “express their own identity.” Reading between the lines, that tells us that it’s not just the VW brand that will have access to the R2’s underpinnings.

Audi? Check. Porsche? Also check. Don’t forget newcomer Scout, plus Lamborghini, Skoda, Seat and all of the others under the VW group umbrella.

We already knew that these brands would have access to the software joint venture, but Bensaid’s reveal confirms that all brands under the portfolio will be able to have access to the R2 platform and tech stack.

Here’s another snippet from the interview that explains it further:

Each brand will have their own UI, look and feel. Each brand will have their own suspension tuning […] but underneath, the guts of the vehicle will be optimized based on the same technology and software architecture.

Whether we realize it now or not, this is actually a pretty cool move. For Rivian, it means that the Germans are entrusting it, a relatively new automaker, with a core area of its business. That should build immense trust for consumers who are looking to jump ship from Tesla into the seat of an R2 next year. But it should also show that VW, which has become tried and true for nearly a century, is finally getting with the times.

VW has had some serious problems with software over the years. Its struggling Cariad division has had difficulties pulling itself out of trouble with spotty software problems, including pulling some models in Europe (Audi R2, Audi TT, Porsche 718 Cayman, Porsche Boxster, Porsche Macan, Volkswagen Transporter 6.1 and Volkswagen Up) last year due to software-related cybersecurity requirements defined under UN R155 that it simply couldn’t meet.

This new partnership with Rivian underscores just how VW’s vision of software and architecture is changing. And it also shows its commitment to truly adapting to modern times, while other automakers are stuck in Autosar hell, cobbling together new tech with old code.