Ford decided to invest $ 500 million in Rivian, an electric vehicle start-up company. Rivian is considered a potential rival for Tesla if it has sufficient capital.
Rivian plans to manufacture a van and SUV by the end of the year. Both vehicles will be considered luxury cars and might be attractive to consumers who like Tesla's style.
Apparently Rivian is gathering followers because Ford was not alone in investing in the company. Amazon invested about $ 700 million in February.
Despite the investments, the company intends to remain independent. Amazon declined to explain the specific reasons for its investment. Ford's goals are quite clear.
Ford aims to attack electric vehicle market through Rivian
Ford President Wiliam C. Ford Jr says the company has a lot to learn from Rivian. Mainly by the way they deal with electric vehicles with a more premature approach.
With Tesla's rise as a benchmark for electric vehicles, other companies could not be left behind. Ford thus intends to take the next steps in this new and growing car industry.
Ford plans to spend about $ 11 billion to develop 12 models of electric vehicles. The company plans to use Rivian's chassis style for some of the models.
Who is Rivian?
Rivian was founded in 2009 by engineer R.J. Scaringe. It featured a truck and SUV van with each model having a skateboard-like chassis.
The chassis contains all components that power the vehicle such as the battery, suspensions, cooling system and four electric motors. Rivian claims that a full battery charge will yield more than 600 kilometers of travel.
This partnership with Ford came from several conversations Rivian had with other manufacturers. Scaringe states that he and Ford Jr share the same view where the future of vehicles lies in electricity.
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