Why Rivian’s Future Is Closely Tied to Amazon
Fledgling automaker Rivian recently rolled its first electric vehicle off the assembly line at its plant in Normal, Illinois. The R1T is the first all-electric pickup to hit the market, beating out the trucks on the way from Tesla and Ford, among others.
And of course, there’s another Rivian model, the R1S SUV, coming in the next few months. Beyond that, the company has more in the pipeline – recall that the automaker has registered several new names for potential use down the road.
But virtually all of Rivian’s big plans depend on one single name: Amazon. Its partnership with the online sales giant ensures financial stability going forward, so the success of that partnership is crucial.
Recall that Amazon is a substantial investor in Rivian (as is Ford). And the retail behemoth has an order with the startup EV maker for 100,000 all-electric delivery vans. According to Bloomberg, Rivian’s real focus is not so much production and sales of the R1T or R1S, or even its future outdoor charging network, but fulfilling its contract with Amazon.
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