Ford to invest $500 million in Rivian, partnership to deliver a new Ford EV

The future of electric vehicle startup Rivian seems bright as America’s automotive giant Ford Motor Company seeks to invest $500 million in the company, Rivan CEO RJ Scaringe and Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford announced the deal earlier today.

In addition to the investment, both companies agreed to develop a brand new electric vehicle for Ford using Rivian’s skateboard platform.

This is the second big investment that Rivian has secured this year after getting funded by the e-Commerce and tech giant Amazon. Looks like the 10-year hard work of the entire Rivian team has finally started to pay off.

Rivian’s promise to start the R1T Pickup Truck and R1S SUV adventure vehicles delivery by late 2020 seems possible after getting these massive fundings from the giant corporations.

According to Ford, Rivian Automotive will remain an independent company after the successful initial round of investment, Ford said the following in their latest press release:

Ford intends to develop a new vehicle using Rivian’s flexible skateboard platform. This is in addition to Ford’s existing plans to develop a portfolio of battery electric vehicles. As part of its previously announced $11 billion EV investment, Ford already has confirmed two key fully electric vehicles: a Mustang-inspired crossover coming in 2020 and a zero-emissions version of the best-selling F-150 pickup.

Rivian remains an independent company. The investment is subject to customary regulatory approval. Following Ford’s investment, Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of Automotive, will join Rivian’s seven-member board.

The most interesting outcome of this development would be the brand new Ford EV that will be built using Rivian’s technology, in addition to the skateboard platform, Rivian has the largest battery pack available in any vehicle as of now (up to 180 kWh) and the company is also working on their self-driving software.

Ford and Rivian’s collaboration on technology will save Ford a huge effort required for electric vehicle R&D and software development enabling them to directly start manufacturing EVs in the shortest period of time — intelligent move from both sides.

Rivian has been displaying its electric vehicles built for adventure from Aspen Colorado to recently in NYC and joining the New York Auto Show as well.

Rivian Story Stream:

• Amazon invests big in electric vehicle startup Rivian Automotive
• Rivian R1T electric pickup truck seems to have hit the sweet spot
• Rivian R1S vs. Tesla Model X spec to spec comparison
• Rivian’s electric R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV on display at Aspen, Colorado — CEO gives an interview
• Rivian unveils their electric SUV, the ‘R1S’ that can go up to 410 miles on a single charge