Rivian CEO warns carmakers focusing on petrol engines risk falling behind
13 reported
The CEO of Amazon-backed electric carmaker Rivian has warned that carmakers focusing on fossil fuel engines risk being “woefully behind” on technology by the end of the decade. RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s founder and chief executive, said the industry has reached a “fork in the road” between short-term profits and heavy investments needed to survive, particularly in software. In an interview this month in London, he stated many have chosen profits, ramping up production of petrol or hybrid pickup trucks and SUVs in the US and Europe. Scaringe said decisions to focus on profitable petrol cars could look good financially for 2026 through 2028 but could leave companies behind by the end of the 2020s and into the 2030s. He also said the more damaging aspect of the turn against EVs is the failure to develop software that controls vehicles, noting petrol cars rely on scattered computer chips rather than a centralized architecture. Rivian lost $3.6bn in 2025 amid heavy investment in the R2 SUV and autonomous driving, and its market value has dropped to $21bn from over $100bn at its IPO.
What’s reported
RJ Scaringe said carmakers focusing on fossil fuel engines risk being “woefully behind” on technology by the end of the decade.
He said the industry has reached a “fork in the road” between short-term profits and heavy investments, especially in software.
Many carmakers have chosen profits, ramping up production of petrol or hybrid pickup trucks and SUVs in the US and Europe.
Ford, General Motors, Honda, Stellantis and Volkswagen have collectively written off more than $70bn from previous EV investments, according to Reuters.
Scaringe said the turn against EVs could look good financially for 2026-2028 but leave companies behind by the end of the 2020s and into the 2030s.
Rivian lost $3.6bn in 2025 amid heavy investment in the R2 and autonomous driving.
Rivian’s market value dropped to $21bn from over $100bn at its IPO.
Scaringe said petrol cars use scattered computer chips rather than a centralized architecture, which reduces production costs by “thousands of dollars.”
Rivian has a deal with Amazon for up to 100,000 delivery vans, a $5.8bn joint venture with Volkswagen, and a $1.25bn investment from Uber.
Electric cars made up 7.8% of US car sales in 2025; Scaringe said the R2 could increase that by three or four percentage points.
Scaringe said he is sceptical of claims buyers do not want EVs, calling Tesla’s dominance a “sign of a market starved for great choices.”
Chinese carmakers dominate the global EV industry but are locked out of the US by prohibitive tariffs.
Rivian aims to sell the R2 in the UK and mainland Europe, but not for at least a year.
Key figures
RJ Scaringe, founder and chief executive of Rivian
Donald Trump, former US president (mentioned in context of gutting EV incentives)
Sources: The Guardian
