Volkswagen and Rivian have announced a tech joint venture that will see the two companies accelerate the development of electric vehicle (EV) architecture and software for use in both companies’ future EVs.

There is currently stiff competition in the EV market. Large auto manufacturers that are attempting to shift from fossil fuel-powered vehicles to EVs are not only facing competition from established EV rivals such as Tesla, but also from low-priced Chinese EVs that are rapidly entering European and US markets.

Amid all this competition, large auto manufacturer Volkswagen and EV start-up Rivian have announced they have entered a joint venture to create next-generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) platforms to be used in both companies’ future EVs.

According to Reuters, after the announcement was made yesterday shares in Rivian’s stock jumped 36% during out-of-hours trading.

Rivian’s founder and CEO RJ Scaringe broke the news of the joint venture on X.

Under the agreement, Volkswagen...