Rivian receives the next $1B from Volkswagen as sales struggles continue

Rivian has hit a milestone in its agreement with German automotive giant Volkswagen that will bring $1 billion into the EV startup’s coffers in the form of a share sale. Rivian also announced Wednesday that it delivered 10,661 vehicles in the second quarter.

That represents a 23% drop in sales from the second quarter of 2024, and only a slight improvement over Rivian’s rough first quarter, when it delivered 8,640 EVs. The company already lowered its sales target for 2025 as a result of President Trump’s tariffs and trade wars, all of which make it more expensive to build cars.

Rivian said Wednesday that it still believes it will deliver between 40,000 and 46,000 EVs this year. But even hitting the high end of that range means it will ultimately sell fewer cars in 2025 than it did in either of the prior two years. All this makes things especially tenuous for Rivian, which has historically burned through billions of dollars and is banking a lot of the 2026 release of its more affordable SUV, the R2.

The payout from Volkswagen is the result of Rivian tallying its second-ever gross profit in the first quarter of this year. In 2024, the two automakers announced a technology joint venture worth up to $5.8 billion. Rivian’s provided employees, along with its software and electrical architecture designs, to that joint venture. Volkswagen plans to use those underlying technologies to power its future EVs. It provided the first $1 billion to Rivian late last year in the form of a convertible note.

Rivian was only able to hit that gross profit milestone because it spent a lot of money and effort over the last two years simplifying the design of its existing consumer vehicles, the R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck. Those redesigned versions hit the road last year and were dramatically cheaper for Rivian to build, although the company is still losing money overall.

Things could get even more challenging for companies like Rivian if Trump gets what he wants with his so-called proposed “One Big Beautiful Bill.” This week, that piece of legislation was passed from the U.S. Senate back to the House of Representatives. In its current form it will end the federal EV tax credit, which instantly cuts $7,500 off the price of a new electric vehicle, in September of this year.