Rivian and Volkswagen have received approval from German authorities to form a new joint venture, clearing the way for their partnership to develop next-generation electric vehicles. The German Federal Cartel Office announced on Monday that it had no competition concerns with the alliance.
“It’s not expected to significantly impede effective competition,” said Andreas Mundt, president of the Bundeskartellamt, the agency overseeing the approval.
The joint venture, announced over a month ago, will leverage Rivian’s software expertise to create an architecture for future electric vehicles. Volkswagen plans to invest up to $5 billion in the venture, with $3 billion allocated directly to Rivian and $2 billion invested in the joint project, contingent on meeting certain milestones.
The Bundeskartellamt stated that it had “cleared under merger control the formation of a joint venture between Volkswagen and US electric car manufacturer Rivian” and also approved Volkswagen’s investment in Rivian.
“There will continue to be a sufficient range of services available to car manufacturers to build E/E architectures,” the agency added.
