Electric Vehicles

Rivian and the Volkswagen Group's joint venture now has a name and a launch date. Rivian and VW Group Technology, LLC—or, Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies, for short—kicks off Wednesday.

The EV startup and automotive juggernaut announced their intentions to make a deal in June. Now the tie-up is actually happening, and the companies have revealed some key details. One big one: Initially, Volkswagen said it would invest $5 billion into Rivian to leverage the startup's expertise in vehicle software and electrical architectures. Now that's up to $5.8 billion.

The venture will be jointly run by Rivian's Chief Software Officer, Wassym Bensaid, and Carsten Helbing, Volkswagen Group's CTO. They'll serve as co-CEOs. It'll be based in Palo Alto, California, to start. Three more sites are in development North America and Europe, the companies said on Tuesday.

Through the deal, Volkswagen's brands will benefit from the underlying technology Rivian has developed—namely, vehicle software and electrical architectures. That's something Volkswagen has struggled to build in-house for years. And it's increasingly important, as automakers look to create "software-defined vehicles" that offer satisfying user interfaces, seamless over-the-air updates and paid subscription features.

Together, Rivian and VW will develop "next-generation electrical architecture and best-in-class software technology for both companies’ future electric vehicles, covering all relevant vehicle segments, including subcompact cars," the companies said in a press release. Rivian's upcoming R2 will use technology from the joint venture. Volkswagen didn't specify any models, but since we know VW is working on an electric ID. Golf, that—and subsequent smaller cars—could make use of this technology.

Nov 12 (Reuters) - Nasdaq-listed electric vehicle maker VinFast said on Wednesday it will get a fresh round of funding worth 85 trillion dong ($3.35 billion) from its founder and its parent firm, Vingroup (VIC.HM) , opens new tab by 2026, when it expects to break even. VinFast began operations in 2019 and has been expanding aggressively into global markets, but the firm continues to report increasing losses as it grapples with softer demand and challenges in the sector.

Approximately 50 trillion dong ($1.97 billion) of the new funding is expected to come from VinFast's founder, tycoon Pham Nhat Vuong, according to a company statement. Vingroup, one of Vietnam's largest conglomerates, intends to lend up to $1.38 billion to VinFast by the end of 2026 through its activities, dividends, and possible divestment, which it said may be conducted at an acceptable price if necessary.

Additionally, Vingroup will convert all existing loans to VinFast Vietnam into preferred shares with dividend entitlements, it said. Vuong, who owns 97.9% of VinFast shares both directly and indirectly, gave assurances of his commitment to increase investment in the automotive unit during a general meeting in April. "VinFast remains committed to raising independent capital to meet its financial needs. The support from Vingroup and Vuong will be utilised only if these independent efforts fall short," VinFast said in the statement.

Jaguar has stopped selling new vehicles in its home country until at least 2026 as the luxury British automaker prepares to go all-electric.

Jaguar Land Rover, owned by India-based Tata Motors, won't be shipping any new vehicles to dealers in the UK — and current Jaguar models left in their inventories will be sold as pre-owned, a company spokesperson told Business Insider.

It's the first time that prospective UK buyers won't be able to choose a Jaguar — a preferred vehicle of the British royal family and UK prime ministers — since World War II, Bloomberg reported.

Meanwhile, US buyers won't have access to new Jags, either: US dealers will be able to sell what's left from the 2024 model year — and will then have to wait to get the new all-electric Jags, Car and Driver reported.

The company has said it plans to reveal more details later this year, but for now, its new EVs aren't expected to launch for more than a year — sometime in 2026, a Jaguar Land Rover spokesperson told the UK's Car Dealer Magazine.