VW becomes Rivian's largest shareholder, overtaking Amazon

[Katsudon]

Following a Monday (yesterday) post-market SEC filing, Volkswagen AG has officially overtaken Amazon as Rivian’s largest single shareholder. This marks the first time since Rivian's 2021 Nasdaq IPO that Amazon has not held the top spot.

Key details of the ownership shift include:

• New Ownership Stake: Volkswagen's total stake in the EV manufacturer has risen to 15.9%.
• Share Count: Through its US subsidiary, Volkswagen US-Holding, Inc., the group now beneficially owns 209,769,645 Class A common shares.
• The Investment Trigger: This increase resulted from a milestone-based investment structure tied to the software joint venture formed in late 2024, which saw Volkswagen deploy an additional $1 billion in capital.

Prior to Rivian’s public debut, Amazon served as its primary backer, holding a disclosed stake of roughly 20% leading into the November 2021 listing.

However, as Rivian increased its total share count, Amazon’s ownership underwent the following dilution:

• End of 2022: The stake decreased to approximately 17%.
• 2024: Further expansion of shares brought the position down to approximately 16%, shortly before being overtaken by Volkswagen.

Comparison of Top Shareholders

Shareholder	Share Count (Class A)	% Stake	Notes
Volkswagen AG	209,769,645	15.9%	Became largest shareholder following additional $1B deployment.
Amazon	~158,400,000	~12-13%	Held top spot from 2021 IPO until Monday's filing.

Here are the top Rivian shareholders as of May 2026:

16.64% Owned by Volkswagen
12.56% Owned by Amazon Inc.
8.44% Owned by Abdul Latif Jameel Company Ltd.
6.46% Owned by Vanguard Group Inc.
4.00% Owned by BlackRock Inc.
3.47% Owned by Baillie Gifford & Co.
2.14% Owned by UBS Asset Management AG

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[VandalSibs]

For those of you who are curious, this does not mean that VW has more voting control due to this majority ownership. RJ still has the most voting power, as his shares are different and have more weight when voting.

I am wrong - see this post below.

 

[Luxus]

This kind of stuff is not my forte. Just wondering if there are any implications from this. Like could VW be considering acquiring Rivian? They already have a joint venture going on.

 

[mkg3]

For those of you who are curious, this does not mean that VW has more voting control due to this majority ownership. RJ still has the most voting power, as his shares are different and have more weight when voting.

False, based on reported.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rivian-ceo-joins-bezos-gates-033046363.html

Rj now has 2% of total shares with 4% voting power after the divorce settlement. VW, with 1:1 voting power, instead of RJ's 10:1 voting power as of the time of the article last summer.

Since then he has been awarded performance-based 36 million common (Class A, not Class B) shares option at $15.22/share. The combined Class A and B shares' voting power, even if he exercised all of the option is less than 10%.

In other words, RJ does not have more voting power than either VW or Amazon.

 

[electruck]

This kind of stuff is not my forte. Just wondering if there are any implications from this. Like could VW be considering acquiring Rivian? They already have a joint venture going on.

this is a direct consequence of the joint venture (ie, part of the existing agreement), not an additional investment.

 

[DuoRivians]

Largest shareholder or largest bagholder?

 

[theonetruestripes]

This kind of stuff is not my forte. Just wondering if there are any implications from this. Like could VW be considering acquiring Rivian? They already have a joint venture going on.

They could, but the stock they just acquired is a side effect of the JV not a direct act VW just recently took. So either they were playing a long game, or they might be considering a purchase separately from acquiring more of Rivian, or they were considering and having somewhat less they need to buy makes it a more likely thing to do.

It is also entirely possible that VW is getting everything they want from Rivian via the JV so they have no real reason to purchase Rivian unless they think Rivian is going to collapse and it is worth punching them just to hold onto what they get out of the JV (seems unlikely at the price). It is also possible they want more from Rivian, but not enough to make it worth buying Rivian, and/or they want more buy think it is more cost effective to get it another way (like offering money for just the thing(s) they want not the whole company, e.g. “can we buy the self driving stack for fewer dollars then buying the whole company?”).

...in other words “it could justify almost anything! We don’t know enough to guess what!"

 

[VandalSibs]

False, based on reported.
https://finance.yahoo.com/news/rivian-ceo-joins-bezos-gates-033046363.html

Rj now has 2% of total shares with 4% voting power after the divorce settlement. VW, with 1:1 voting power, instead of RJ's 10:1 voting power as of the time of the article last summer.

Since then he has been awarded performance-based 36 million common (Class A, not Class B) shares option at $15.22/share. The combined Class A and B shares' voting power, even if he exercised all of the option is less than 10%.

In other words, RJ does not have more voting power than either VW or Amazon.

Doesn't the 10:1 vote mean that every one of his shares has the voting power of 10 shares?

I guess I always thought he was in a similar position as other CEOs where they tend to have higher voting power, and on votes where there's a conflict of interest they just aren't allowed to vote. I am not an expert in any way on this topic though....

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

And it doesn't mean VW will eventually buy and take over the entire company. So knock off with the tin foil crap.

Such relationships come and go, once the investing OEM get what they need and can stand on their own. Toyota and Mercedes both invested in Telsa. Neither bought or took over. They got what they needed from their investments and left. Exactly as Ford did with Rivian.

There are countless other similar investments and JVs in the car biz—even before EVs were a thing. This is nothing new and not worth sensationalizing, like the bloggers are doing (to get paid by boosting site traffic and ad placement dollars).

This is just another milestone in the VW-Rivian JV.

 

[Great Gatsby]

And it doesn't mean VW will eventually buy and take over the entire company. So knock off with the tin foil crap.

Such relationships come and go, once the investing OEM get what they need and can stand on their own. Toyota and Mercedes both invested in Telsa. Neither bought or took over. They got what they needed from their investments and left. Exactly as Ford did with Rivian.

There are countless other similar investments and JVs in the car biz—even before EVs were a thing. This is nothing new and not worth sensationalizing, like the bloggers are doing (to get paid by boosting site traffic and ad placement dollars).

This is just another milestone in the VW-Rivian JV.

Thanks for saying this. Knew when I saw the headline that people will start thinking this and the thread already started going sideways.

Absolute nothing Rivian is doing right now indicates that they are near collapse or want to be bought. If anything, the relationship seems to be going very well for both. As for VW, they have Scout. They have zero need for Rivian in their portfolio, the software deal seems to be good enough for them.

 

[portdirect]

Doesn't the 10:1 vote mean that every one of his shares has the voting power of 10 shares?

I guess I always thought he was in a similar position as other CEOs where they tend to have higher voting power, and on votes where there's a conflict of interest they just aren't allowed to vote. I am not an expert in any way on this topic though....

Holder	Voting position	Practical read
Volkswagen AG / VW US-Holding	209,769,645 Class A votes	Largest disclosed voting block
Amazon	158,363,834 current Class A votes, plus 3,723,050 warrant shares if exercised	Second largest disclosed block
Global Oryx	113,934,082 Class A votes before VW issuance	Third among disclosed large holders
RJ Scaringe	10,798,921 Class A shares plus 3,912,500 Class B shares	Founder influence, but not voting control

 

[Oldsmobile_Mike]

HolderVoting positionPractical readVolkswagen AG / VW US-Holding209,769,645 Class A votesLargest disclosed voting blockAmazon158,363,834 current Class A votes, plus 3,723,050 warrant shares if exercisedSecond largest disclosed blockGlobal Oryx113,934,082 Class A votes before VW issuanceThird among disclosed large holdersRJ Scaringe10,798,921 Class A shares plus 3,912,500 Class B sharesFounder influence, but not voting control

This is a great chart. Clearly displays how even at 10:1, RJ's shares aren't enough to outvote some of the other heavyweights.

Meanwhile, the trolls on other social media sites be all like "But what about George Soroooos...?" LOL

 

[VandalSibs]

HolderVoting positionPractical readVolkswagen AG / VW US-Holding209,769,645 Class A votesLargest disclosed voting blockAmazon158,363,834 current Class A votes, plus 3,723,050 warrant shares if exercisedSecond largest disclosed blockGlobal Oryx113,934,082 Class A votes before VW issuanceThird among disclosed large holdersRJ Scaringe10,798,921 Class A shares plus 3,912,500 Class B sharesFounder influence, but not voting control

Thanks!

Is the "Founder Influence" thing an actual sort of power in terms of voting, or just a unofficial 'founders are special' thing that gets respected?

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Another thing to keep in mind: We know R2 deliveries are about to begin and level of anticipation for it is high (to say the least). If demand proves to be as strong as anticipation, RIVN is likely very undervalued. With this investment, VW Group could be hedging to gain back some of the billions it has and will be putting into the JV—i.e. "free" money.

Honestly, it's just a smart bet on their part and has nothing to do with state of the JV or Rivian's financial health. Instead of predicting pending doom and takeover, it should be read as VW's level of confidence in Rivian.

 

[captainjp]

Acquire Rivian and dump Scout. They’re done

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