VW becomes Rivian's largest shareholder, overtaking Amazon

[NY_Rob]

Acquire Rivian and dump Scout. They’re done

I somewhat agree on the Scout prognosis.. At one point VW is going to take a real hard look at the actual amount of $$$$ required to get to the point where they have real vehicles to deliver and call it. Sad, but it's not like they have unlimited $$$..

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[Great Gatsby]

Acquire Rivian and dump Scout. They’re done

I wouldn't. I have a feeling Scouts will be very popular. I personally like the aesthetics of Scout better and physical buttons along with the EREV option will bring some people from the ICE side of things. If I were a betting man, I'd bet Scout would do quite well for itself.

I somewhat agree on the Scout prognosis.. At one point VW is going to take a real hard look at the actual amount of $$$$ required to get to the point where they have real vehicles to deliver and call it. Sad, but it's not like they have unlimited $$$..

Not unlimited, but a crapton of money. I doubt that they have been willing to spend so much money getting a factory, marketing and prototypes going to just write it off. If any brand can ensure Scout sees the light of day, its VW.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Acquire Rivian and dump Scout. They’re done

VW has already spent at least 3 billion on Scout. Dumping Scout and acquiring Rivian, along with assuming Rivian's debts, is a loss-loss. Not to mention the reputational damage of saying "never mind" after making a splashy announcement and subsequent marketing blitz to say "the iconic American brand is coming back".

Buying RIVN shares at current low price, riding the R2 wave and upswing—then cashing out on those gains—is free money to add to their coffers and help pay for the JV; instead of completely out-of-pocket.

If you had option to buy your car with free money, vs your hard earned money, which would you do? It's that simple.

 

[mkg3]

...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?

Most founders have their passion, blood, sweat, and tears attached to the company and the products. I'm pretty sure RJ is no different. As such, founders are not always the best leaders, judge of the business or execution. That said, they also have the best insight and understandings of the products.

In terms of the founder influence, what the founder says has a great impression on the general shareholders. Just read the threads on this forum and you'll understand just how much folks here defend Rivian and RJ. Many vote with their heart and not necessarily with their logic.

There is no actual power, per sa, that comes with any founder - only their convictions and people believing in the vision. Most founders end up selling majority of company to different investors as they are raising funds along the way. The ideal range of founder is to be able to retain roughly 25% of the company shares by the time they go public or get acquired. The other 75% is used for various funding cycles to grow the business.

It's worth mentioning that there are institutional investors that control large blocks of shares, albeit not the majority, and most do not take an active position in the company's direction (some do). Instead, if things are not going their way, they will simply exit the investment rather than take-on the challenge of changing what happens. So even with non-controlling shares, as long as RJ keeps VW, Amazon, Vanguard and alike happy, the company will be status quo.

 

[Sgt Beavis]

I wonder how, or if, this may impact the Dealership lawsuit against VW. VW claims it's only a stock holder of Scout Motors. Now it can say the same of Rivian and Rivian already owns several of it's own service centers.

Also, FU Dealers..

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

I wonder how, or if, this may impact the Dealership lawsuit against VW. VW claims it's only a stock holder of Scout Motors. Now it can say the same of Rivian and Rivian already owns several of it's own service centers.

Also, FU Dealers..

I doubt the dealers will win, unless they have political leverage. And dealers will still be able to get revenue from servicing Scouts. VW isn't trying to take all business from them. So their suit is a bit of a reach.

 

[Motoarzon]

I'M NOT Sure my self righteousness sits well knowing that the company "literally" founded by the Nazi's has such a large ownership in Rivian. Others had a problem with a "my heart goes out to you". Yet seem to have forgiven and swept under the rug the atrocities that VW participated in fueling the Nazi regime.
Not to mention their crimes against the planet/humanity "intentionally" bypassing emmisions regulations for years and years.
(Sarcasm)....Hypocrites!

 

[Ralph]

I'M NOT Sure my self righteousness sits well knowing that the company "literally" founded by the Nazi's has such a large ownership in Rivian. Others had a problem with a "my heart goes out to you". Yet seem to have forgiven and swept under the rug the atrocities that VW participated in fueling the Nazi regime.
Not to mention their crimes against the planet/humanity "intentionally" bypassing emmisions regulations for years and years.
(Sarcasm)....Hypocrites!

People make decisions. Seems like those you refer to are either in prison, on trial or dead.

 

[VandalSibs]

I'M NOT Sure my self righteousness sits well knowing that the company "literally" founded by the Nazi's has such a large ownership in Rivian. Others had a problem with a "my heart goes out to you". Yet seem to have forgiven and swept under the rug the atrocities that VW participated in fueling the Nazi regime.
Not to mention their crimes against the planet/humanity "intentionally" bypassing emmisions regulations for years and years.
(Sarcasm)....Hypocrites!

It's been roughly 60-70 years since those people were in charge of VW. The same cannot be said of a particular modern vehicle manufacturer.....

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

It's been roughly 60-70 years since those people were in charge of VW. The same cannot be said of a particular modern vehicle manufacturer.....

As if America has not committed atrocities prior to 60-70 years ago and since. Those in glass houses...

 

[VandalSibs]

As if America has not committed atrocities 60-70 years prior and since. Those in glass houses...

Yep.

 

[ACDC]

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

 

[Rivian Owner]

Most lenders, be it a vulture capitalist company, VW, or some other entity with lots of cash, will typically demand control of the company when making significant investments in the company ($5,000,000,000 for example). It makes sense that the investor would want to have the ability to control the company, whether they step in and immediately take control, or passively wait on the sidelines monitoring performance, the investor wants to protect their investment. It does not mean the investor wants to buy the company in the future as the reason that they insist on control as part of the agreement. Also, let's not forget 20% of the voting shares isn't a 51% voting block so to take full control of the company you'd need other investors to agree to go along with your plans. There are plenty of examples of hostile takeovers where a group of investors unite to block the action of a large shareholder.

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