Rivian shares surge 15% after Volkswagen invests $5.8B as part of joint venture

Shares of Rivian jumped over 15% on Wednesday after the electric vehicle maker announced a $5.8 billion investment from German automaker Volkswagen as part of their joint venture.

The investment boost comes at a crucial time for Rivian, which aims to cut costs, achieve profitability, and launch its smaller, more affordable R2 SUV to attract budget-conscious consumers.

The joint venture, Rivian and VW Group Technology LLC will integrate advanced electrical infrastructure and Rivian's software technology for both companies' future electric vehicles.

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"It (the investment) is a vote of confidence in the EV maker's prospects, as support for EVs in the U.S. faces a more uncertain future, given Trump is returning to the White House," said Susannah Streeter, head of money and markets at Hargreaves Lansdown.

"Tesla's Elon Musk has been given a seat at Trump's top table," Streeter added, which could potentially put EV rivals like Rivian in a less favorable position in future policy decisions.

Following Trump's declaration of victory last week, shares of Rivian and other electric vehicle manufacturers went down, with Tesla being the only outlier.

Last week, Rivian fell short of third-quarter revenue estimates. The Amazon-backed company has been struggling with a parts shortage, which led to a reduction in its annual production forecast in October.

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Rivian still faces daunting challenges like a lack of scale, increasing competition, high capital costs and the "assumed elimination" of EV tax credits, said Garrett Nelson, senior equity analyst at CFRA Research

The joint venture helps alleviate "a significant chunk of the capital concern" and is likely to establish the Rivian and Volkswagen venture as the platform of choice in the Western world apart from Tesla, said Canaccord Genuity analysts in a note.

Rivian's shares have fallen nearly 55% this year, underperforming rivals. If gains hold, the company is set to add over $1.6 billion to its current market value of $10.8 billion.