By Abhirup Roy

PALO ALTO, Calif. (Reuters) – A joint venture between U.S. electric pickup and SUV maker Rivian and Volkswagen is in talks with other automakers about supplying its software and electric architecture, a top executive said on Thursday from Rivian.

The German automaker agreed in November to invest $5.8 billion in the joint venture, which will integrate Rivian’s advanced electric infrastructure and software technology for both companies’ future electric vehicles.

While a joint venture will give Rivian higher volumes to negotiate better deals with suppliers and cut costs, seen as critical amid slowing demand for electric vehicles, Volkswagen and potentially other traditional automakers they will have quick and easy access to the technology and software they have struggled to build. years

“I would say a lot of other OEMs are knocking on our door,” Rivian software chief Wassym Bensaid said in an interview, referring to original equipment manufacturers, a phrase used to describe manufacturers of vehicles

Bensaid, who is also co-CEO of the joint venture, declined to provide the names of the automakers concerned and details about the stage the talks were at.

Rivian’s architecture requires fewer electronic control units and much less wiring, reducing vehicle weight and simplifying manufacturing. The technology is core to building cars with software that can be updated over the air like a smartphone, what the industry calls “software-defined vehicles,” an area where established automakers still lag.

“The demand is there,” Bensaid said, adding that the priority until 2027 was to launch the R2, Rivian’s smallest and least expensive SUV, and integrate the technology into other Volkswagen brands. “Obviously, other OEMs are talking to us and we’re trying to figure out how to support them going forward.”

“Any other OEM that wants to make a leap from a technology standpoint, the joint venture today becomes one of the key partners with whom they can do that collaboration,” he said.

The company is likely to become the platform of choice in the Western world aside from Tesla, Canaccord Genuity analysts said in a note. The joint venture also helps alleviate “a significant portion of the capital concern” for Rivian, analysts said.

(Reporting by Abhirup Roy in Palo Alto, California and Arsheeya Bajwa in Bangalore; Editing by Peter Henderson and Jamie Freed)