Rivian Wants to Launch 5 New Models After $5 Billion Volkswagen Investment

Elliot Ross Studio/Rivian

It seems like Rivian is eager to start spending its newfound money.

The EV maker has announced plans to launch five new vehicles in the wake of a significant investment from Volkswagen Group, according to Autoblog. The slew of new models could include the kind of “affordable” EVs that Western automakers have been promising for years but have so far been unable to deliver.

Earlier this week, it was announced that VW Group would invest $5 billion into Rivian. The two companies are partnering together on an “equally controlled and owned joint venture” focused on technology for new vehicles, specifically EV architecture and software. In short, the investment grants the German automotive giant access to the EV maker’s impressive technology, giving the former some help in its bid to catch up with Tesla. The agreement, meanwhile, cash-hemorrhaging Rivian some much-needed financial help.

A slideshow accompanying the announcement revealed plans for five new or updated models. The presentation includes a slide that breaks down the EV maker’s vehicles into four categories: Gen 1, Gen 2, MSP (or “midsize platform”), and Affordable Mass Market. The Gen 1 column includes the first-generation R1T and R1S and the electric delivery van the company built for Amazon. After that things start getting interesting. The Gen 2 column includes the newly refreshed R1T and R1S, while MSP features the R2 and R3 models unveiled earlier this year. Both column also feature two mysterious EV covered with a shroud. Even more intriguing is the Affordable Mass Market column which features three such hidden vehicles, one of which is low enough to the ground that it may be a car.

That’s all we know about the vehicles so far, but it’s hard not to be intrigued. Especially interesting is the fact that the company explicitly referred to the cloaked EVs in column four as “affordable.” The term tends to be relative when it comes to EVs, but if Rivian releases an EV (or three) at a lower price point than the R2, which it says will start at $45,000, that could be a game changer.

Of course, it will likely be a while before we see any of the new models. The R2 won’t be ready until 2026, with the R3 coming later. Who knows how long we’ll have to wait for the rest.