Plot Twist: Volkswagen Is Now Rivian’s Biggest Shareholder

For the longest time, Amazon has been Rivian's biggest shareholder. That’s no longer the case.

Photo by: Rivian

Iulian Dnistran

By: Iulian Dnistran

May 8, at 8:00am ET

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After more than five years, Amazon has lost the top spot on Rivian’s shareholder list.
A huge legacy automaker is now the California startup’s biggest shareholder.
Rivian’s largest backer has committed to invest nearly $6 billion as long as things go according to plan.

Rivian, the California EV maker that brought us the fantastic R1S and R1T, and is now working around the clock to deliver the more affordable R2 SUV, has a new company at the top of its shareholder list.

Volkswagen Group is now Rivian’s largest shareholder, after investing roughly $3 billion in the American startup, with another $2.8 billion on the way if things go according to plan. According to the latest SEC documents filed by Rivian earlier this week, Volkswagen Group now owns 209.7 million shares of Rivian stock, which amounts to 15.9%, as spotted by TechCrunch.

Rivian R2 Assembly

Photo by: Rivian

The German company’s stake started out at 8.6% less than two years ago, and has now displaced Amazon, which has been Rivian’s top shareholder for at least five years, and now owns a 12.28% stake in the EV startup. Amazon is also a huge customer for Rivian, ordering 100,000 electric delivery vans in 2019. The American e-commerce giant disclosed in 2021 that it held a 20% stake in the EV maker, but that number has gone down in recent years.

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Volkswagen Group’s stake is bound to increase as Rivian continues to tick off the remaining milestones in the two companies’ agreement. In November 2024, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies formed a joint venture that’s focused on the development of electrical architecture and software for electric vehicles.

The German automaker has committed to invest $5.8 billion in the California startup, but the money will come gradually. The partnership came with a $1 billion investment, which was followed up with another $1 billion last year. Last month, another $1 billion was unlocked after the Volkswagen ID. Every1 city EV completed winter testing. The upcoming small EV will be the first production car equipped with the joint venture’s software and electrical architecture.