The ID.EVERY1 may be the baby of Volkswagen's electric vehicle range, but it will be the first car in the Volkswagen Group to receive big-car tech developed as a result of the German brand’s six-billion-dollar investment into American electric car maker Rivian.

This partnership marks a major shift for Volkswagen, which has struggled with software development in its electric models. Rivian, known for its advanced vehicle software, is set to help VW modernise its EV technology and improve vehicle performance.

At the launch of Volkswagen’s ‘people's car’ for the modern age, the ID.EVERY1, Kai Grünitz, the brand's head of technical development – and the man tasked with revamping VW’s electric lineup – confirmed to us that the ‘highly flexible, high-performance software’ will make its first appearance in the £17,000 entry model. He went on to explain that the smallest car in the range would act as ‘the front-runner for the ID.Golf in terms of architecture’.

VW’s boss, Thomas Schäfer, launched the ID.EVERY1 to the appropriate soundtrack of Queen’s Under Pressure in Düsseldorf, acknowledging that 2024 had ‘undoubtedly been the most challenging year in Volkswagen's history’. Explaining that the Volkswagen feeling had ‘faded’ from its lineup, he admitted that ‘a car is only as good as its operating system’ and that after a ‘steep learning curve’, by 2030 VW is aiming to be the ‘technological leader among volume manufacturers’.

But Volkswagen's electrification journey hasn't been smooth. Its early ID models suffered from software issues, which it hopes to solve with Rivian’s technology. Ask any VW ID driver, and they’ll tell you about the problems their cars had in the early days – let's just say Volkswagen didn’t get its infotainment systems right. It’s clearly hoping the tie-up with Rivian will prevent this from happening again in the future. So here’s everything we know so far about the unlikely pairing of one of the world's oldest car makers and a California based electric vehicle start-up.

Who is Rivian?

The American electric vehicle start-up was founded in 2009 and is arguably doing exactly what Land Rover should be doing – producing cool, large electric SUVs and trucks. It sells an all-electric pick-up called the R1T – a Cybertruck rival with more power than a Ferrari – along with a passenger SUV version called the R1S. 

A ‘rollercoaster’ is the best way to describe life in Rivian. It was among the highest-valued U.S. automakers when it went public in 2021, with a market cap of over $100 billion, putting it second only to Tesla, which was valued at around $1 trillion at the time. But those early valuations didn’t last long, and it is now worth a more modest $10 billion.

The only issue with Rivian’s current models is that they’re pretty big in their U.S. guises. However, there are plans for more compact, Europe-friendly Rivians in the form of a brand-new crossover and SUV – the R2 and R3.

The R2 is the larger of the pair and has its sights set firmly on the Tesla Model Y, while the more raised-hatchback-like R3 crossover will be cheaper and become the new entry point to Rivian’s model range. It’ll even spawn a more off-road-focused performance model called the R3X, which will use a tri-motor setup and feature more rugged styling and equipment.

Both the R2 and R3 are built on a new mid-size platform, but the R3 is noticeably smaller than the R2, thanks to 135mm being sliced from the wheelbase. The R3 is the smaller of the two and is a raised-hatchback-like crossover. Given its plunging share price, Rivian will have welcomed the investment of capital from the VW Group in 2024.

Does this mean that Rivian's vehicles will become VW’s in disguise?

In the deal Volkswagen made with Ford to share technology, VW received Ford’s electric van expertise, which has made its way into the forthcoming VW Transporter, while Ford received Volkswagen’s passenger car technology. Having seen this in action in cars like the new Ford Capri and Explorer, Volkswagen got the better end of that deal.

However, this isn’t going to happen this time around. There are no plans for future Rivian models to share Volkswagen platforms or parts. Instead, Volkswagen’s $5.8 billion investment into Rivian will give it access to cutting-edge technology, which will also help VW get cars to market faster in the future. This process has traditionally taken legacy car makers like VW far longer than Chinese brands or start-ups.

Kai Grünitz, VW’s head of technical development, told Electrifying.com that during the process of working with Rivian, he ‘never had such a fast response before’ and went on to explain that Volkswagen brings ‘the ability to handle complexity and how global regulations work’ to the deal.

When will we see the Rivan tech in Volkswagen's cars?

Volkswagen’s future EV lineup is also evolving and the first car to get software developed in this deal will be the ID.EVERY 1 in 2027. This will be followed by the ID.GOLF which is set to be the replacement name for the current Volkswagen ID.3. Given that VW has already confirmed iconic names like Golf, Polo, and GTI will be retained as it electrifies its model lineup, we also expect the forthcoming ID.2.ALL - which won’t get the new software system - to be renamed the ID.POLO when it arrives in 2026.

With this investment, Volkswagen is betting on a software-first future. If it’s successful, this partnership could redefine how it competes with Tesla and emerging Chinese brands.