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Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

bloomberg.com

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Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#51

Post by swores »

constantcrying wrote: post #45
swores wrote: post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you look a few comments higher than mine, you'll see that the context of my comment and the one I replied to start from: > In another universe, I wonder [about Apple + VW joining forces] We're not speculating on what might happen tomorrow, just discussing hypotheticals for the scenario in which those companies were wanting to be partners of some kind.

Seems like a complete nightmare. A Californian software company and a German car maker, seems about as conflicting as possible.

Agree with you, that's why my thought was that, if they were to do anything, an acquisition in which VW retains their autonomy and leadership would make more sense than one in which the two executive teams merge and attempt to manage the new dual-culture single company.

Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#53

Post by LightBug1 »

Unsure why they would do this considering the EV know-how they have under their umbrella ... I mean, Porsche to start with, Rimac... Maybe eyeing another brand to collect.

I'm all for it. The more Tesla competitors the better. I need them to be healthy. I'm probably about 5 years away from buying an EV (I just don't believe in the current crop and I've tested quite a few) and I'm not willing to be a guinea pig.

Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#54

Post by aklendr »

jwr wrote: post #49
Reason077 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "VW themselves says they want the investment for the Software of Rivian, which also is somewhat curious." If you've ever driven a Volkswagen EV and compared their software experience to what the likes of Rivian, Tesla, and Polestar have, this will come as no surprise.

As a VW EV owner (ID.4), I can attest to this. The software is a burning dumpster fire, usability is terrible, the most common workflows break or simply never work, the car forgets even basic settings like whether you want to charge to 80% or 100%, and even the bare basics like the windows going predictably up when you press both "up" buttons sometimes fail (race conditions, apparently). It's an absolute disgrace. I…

Probably designed with ITIL processes and UML diagrams. That sort of thing is popular in Germany.

Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#55

Post by raphael_l »

jwr wrote: post #49
Reason077 wrote: post #37

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "VW themselves says they want the investment for the Software of Rivian, which also is somewhat curious." If you've ever driven a Volkswagen EV and compared their software experience to what the likes of Rivian, Tesla, and Polestar have, this will come as no surprise.

As a VW EV owner (ID.4), I can attest to this. The software is a burning dumpster fire, usability is terrible, the most common workflows break or simply never work, the car forgets even basic settings like whether you want to charge to 80% or 100%, and even the bare basics like the windows going predictably up when you press both "up" buttons sometimes fail (race conditions, apparently). It's an absolute disgrace. I…

We drive an ID.5. Apart from the UX, the outdated visual design language – is the interface also horrendously slow in yours? I have very noticeable lag when interacting with it, sometimes it takes even a second to respond to input.

If it weren't for the insanely good driving experience (coming from a VW Polo before), the software would have definitely convinced us to go for another car.

Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#57

Post by nuccy »

constantcrying wrote: post #5

I also pointed this out in the other thread, but VW is currently building up a direct competitor to Rivian. VW themselves says they want the investment for the Software of Rivian, which also is somewhat curious.

Car manufacturers' interconnecion is amazing by itself. Direct "competitors" share engines, gear boxes [1], or the whole vehicle [2] (modifying just interior and badges, of course). Seems like they adopt the same strategy as laptop manufacturers did (though likely the other way around) - cheap and middle range cars are OEM ones, especially commercial vehicules (made under someone's license with minimum modifications), while only high-end are independently developed.

1. Aisin owned by Toyota provides gearboxes to VW, Skoda, GM, Nissan, et al: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_Aisin_transmissions

2. Same car, different badges: https://en.m.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Renault_Trafic&... (see "Also called")

Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#58

Post by dagw »

constantcrying wrote: post #30
Tomte wrote: post #29

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I'm not certain, but I think it isn't like VW developing platforms and everyone using it. It's more every company in the conglomerate taking turns or having specializations and everyone else using that. So that a Golf platform is first developed by VW and then productized by VM and Skoda, but Skoda is already developing next year's platform which VW will use.

>but Skoda is already developing next year's platform which VW will use. Do you have any evidence for Skoda developing a platform on their own? Audi and Porsche did do their own platform development, but that was never used by VW or Seat or Skoda and was for a completely different market segment.

Do you have any evidence for Skoda developing a platform on their own?

https://www.autocar.co.uk/car-news/new-cars/skoda-handed-con...

Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#59

Post by selimthegrim »

moogly wrote: post #52

Good news for both companies. I'm a bit surprised, because I thought VW would be pissed at Rivian that the R3 basically looks like a 1991 VW Golf[1] Country[2]. [1]: VW Rabbit for the North Americans [2]: https://www.flickr.com/photos/harry_nl/49087163666

Probably minus the NA labor problems.

Re: Volkswagen invests up to $5B in Rivian

#60

Post by tssva »

moogly wrote: post #52

Good news for both companies. I'm a bit surprised, because I thought VW would be pissed at Rivian that the R3 basically looks like a 1991 VW Golf[1] Country[2]. [1]: VW Rabbit for the North Americans [2]: https://www.flickr.com/photos/harry_nl/49087163666

VW mostly stopped using the Rabbit name in 1985. It briefly made a come back in 2006 - 2009 for the Golf Mk5. The 1991 model would have been the Golf in NA. My parents purchased a 1987 VW Golf new which I then purchased from them in 1990 when leaving college. I owned it for another 4 years.
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