Ford Investing $500M in Electric Truck-Maker Rivian
Photo: Ford Motor Company
Despite having announced that it is bringing a fully electric F-150 to the market, Ford this week announced a $500 million investment in Rivian, the company best-known for its electric R1T pickup truck. The investment will result in the co-development of a next-generation battery electric vehicle that will employ the Rivian skateboard platform.
“This strategic partnership marks another key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility,” said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO. “Ford has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, with Bill Ford being one of the industry’s earliest advocates, and we are excited to use our technology to get more electric vehicles on the road.”
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According to Ford, the partnership does not indicate that Rivian is working on the fully electric F-150. Rather, the new vehicle built on the startup’s skateboard platform will supplement its already announced EVs, including the F-150 electric and the Mustang-inspired crossover.
In addition to the five-passenger R1T electric pickup, Rivian produces the seven-passenger R1S SUV. Both are expected to return more than 400 miles of electric range and should launch in late 2020.
Ford is investing $11 billion in the development and production of electrified vehicles over the next several years. In addition to the Mustang-inspired electric performance crossover, which is expected to launch next year and should exceed 300 miles in total driving range, Ford has revealed hybrid variants of key products like the Explorer and Escape.
As part of the investment, Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford joins the Rivian board of directors.
“We are excited to invest in and partner with Rivian,” said Ford. “I have gotten to know and respect RJ, and we share a common goal to create a sustainable future for our industry through innovation.”
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