Ford and Rivian no longer plan jointly developed EVs
Ford, an early Rivian investor, is ready to go it alone and build electric vehicles by itself.
Talk about a massive shift in a matter of two years. Ford CEO Jim Farley said in an interview with Automotive News Friday the automaker no longer plans to jointly build an electric vehicle with Rivian. Ford was an early investor in the darling startup, which is now delivering its first electric trucks, but Farley said the Blue Oval won't need Rivian's help any longer.
On top of that, Farley also said this past Friday Ford aims to be the No. 2 EV producer in the US in just two years. The carmaker has the F-150 Lightning, E-Transit, Mustang Mach-E and plenty more future EVs to come as it pursues such a goal. The go-it-alone strategy scraps at least two vehicles Ford once planned with Rivian. The first was an electric Lincoln and the second remains unknown following the demise of the Lincoln EV.
Still, Ford and Rivian won't be direct rivals as the two have a common interest in the latter's success. Ford's initial stake in Rivian was a $500 million bet. According to Automotive News, Ford has $1.2 billion staked in Rivian. Farley said in the interview the Blue Oval views the startup as a sibling, "since we're an investor."
"Rivian's a special case for us," he said.
Ford added in a statement, "We're seeing extraordinary demand for our first round of EVs – the F-150 Lightning, Mustang Mach-E and E-Transit – and our team is laser-focused on scaling fast and reducing complexity. So, while Rivian is doing lots of interesting things and we've got great respect for R.J. [Scaringe, Rivian CEO] and his team, we like very much where we're at, and Ford and Rivian have both agreed we'll not pursue any kind of joint vehicle development or platform sharing."
Rivian said in its own statement, "As Ford has scaled its own EV strategy and demand for Rivian vehicles has grown, we've mutually decided to focus on our own projects and deliveries. Our relationship with Ford is an important part of our journey, and Ford remains an investor and ally on our shared path to an electrified future."
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