The proposed joint venture between Volkswagen and US electric vehicle maker Rivian can go ahead, Germany’s Bundeskartellamt – the country’s competition authority – has said.

Andreas Mundt, the head of the Bundeskartellamt said in a statement via Reuters: There are “no serious competition problems to be feared.”

In June the two firms announced they intended to enter a JV to create next generation software-defined vehicle (SDV) platforms to be used in both companies’ future electric vehicles.

Volkswagen would invest an initial US$1 billion in Rivian, with up to $4 billion in planned additional investment for a total expected deal size of $5 billion.

Both companies aim to launch vehicles using technology created within the joint venture in the second half of the decade.