Volkswagen Group has selected NXP Semiconductors N.V. to provide microcontrollers for vehicles using its Rivian venture's software architecture, advancing a plan to make onboard electronics less complex.
The companies said Monday that NXP's S32K5 chips are intended for zonal controllers, which coordinate electronic systems in different parts of a vehicle. The chips would help manage equipment for lighting, cabin comfort, chassis functions and safety while linking devices that detect conditions with components that respond. Volkswagen and NXP expect the arrangement to reduce the number of separate electronic control units. They gave no estimate of the savings.
The architecture is being developed by Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies (RV Tech), the automakers' equally owned joint venture founded in November 2024. Volkswagen has described the venture's architecture as intended for the Western Hemisphere. Volkswagen has a separate zonal architecture in China that entered series production in January 2026.
Volkswagen previously said the planned series version of its ID.EVERY1 was scheduled to be the first Group vehicle with a version of RV Tech's architecture in 2027. Monday's announcement also places the first vehicle using the new architecture in 2027, but does not identify the first model planned to carry NXP's chips.
The chip selection follows a broader effort to coordinate sourcing. Volkswagen said in September 2025 that its semiconductor procurement model with Rivian and Volkswagen Group Technologies covered more than 50 semiconductor categories. It cited lower costs and stronger supply security as aims of that model.
Volkswagen said in March that reference vehicles from Volkswagen, Audi and Scout had completed winter testing of RV Tech's architecture. NXP's announcement did not specify purchase volumes, prices or financial terms for the partnership. The companies' next stated milestone is the first vehicle using the architecture, planned for 2027.
