Earlier this week, It was reported that General Motors and Amazon were both interested in investing in Rivian, the Michigan-based electric vehicle start-up company. Both could find compelling reasons to invest in the company. However, it is Amazon that’s investing first by leading an investment round that will infuse the company with $700 million. Rivian isn’t disclosing the full details of the deal; however, the company notes in the announcement that it will remain an independent company.
“This investment is an important milestone for Rivian and the shift to sustainable mobility,” said RJ Scaringe, Rivian Founder and CEO in the statement announcing the deal. “Beyond simply eliminating compromises that exist around performance, capability and efficiency, we are working to drive innovation across the entire customer experience.”
Amazon’s reasons for investing are vastly different than those of General Motors if the automaker decides to take such action. Rivian could provide Amazon with new delivery avenues as the tech behemoth continues to rely on traditional postal and package services such as UPS and the United States Postal Service. A fleet of purpose-built electric vehicles could allow Amazon to begin developing its delivery vehicles and logistic systems.
Rivian is a new company in the world of electric vehicles. It was this past November at the Los Angeles Auto Show when Rivian debuted its first two products—the R1S crossover and R1T truck. The company plans to launch production of versions of both next year, and both are quite compelling. Rivian claims a range of up to approximately 400 miles and three-second zero-to-60 time for both. Towing and payload capacity for the R1T is 11,000 pounds and 1,763 pounds, respectively. The max tow rating on the Chevrolet Silverado 1500 is 12,500 pounds. This gives the Rivian R1T a ton of capability that should please hardcore truck buyers and enthusiasts.
Rivian’s payload and towing capacity, exceptional range, and well-styled vehicles could serve Amazon and GM in unique ways. For Amazon, Rivian makes starting its own delivery service easier. For General Motors, Rivian has a product that has the potential to meet the needs of today’s pickup truck buyers. Being able to haul and tow workloads without worrying about range could make truck buyers open to an electric pickup.
There’s also a bit of novelty that surrounds Rivian, too. The company has taken a clean sheet approach to developing its products, which unshackles engineers and designers from any preconceived notions about what could be considered an electric pickup truck. And this thinking has given the Rivian R1T some unique features like its ventless HVAC system, a gear tunnel between the passenger compartment and bed, an electric trick tailgate, and more.
The infusion of $700 million from Amazon and others will only help Rivian establish itself as an electric vehicle brand. Investment from General Motors would give Rivian more money to bring its products to market and could give GM access to the R1T. This would be an easy way for GM to enter the EV truck market with little effort, and considering the popularity of trucks and SUVs, a high-quality EV truck could sell well.
Comments
Yeah,
more of the customer and driving lovers are waiting for delivery vehicles and logistic systems for business purpose.. and i recently watched this vehicle features in Latest GHD SPORTS Apk on Android. it’s looking awesome.
why didn’t gm (and every other manufacturer) come up with an EV truck themselves?
gm has been in the business of making trucks for a long time and they have to shell out money to get a piece of a company to get into the game?
is it cheaper to invest in other people’s ideas than creating it yourself or were they asleep at the wheel?
i hope someone asks mary barra why gm got outfoxed by a startup in their own backyard.
I agree. A supposed leader sets the trends. The fact is Barra is all about smoke, mirrors, and impression management. You cannot gut the engineering and design staffs like she did without it having an effect on brining product to the market in a reasonable time. All indications are that GM’s EV program has faced delay after delay. This would be a way to get their foot in the door quicker.
Mary’s appropriating the Facebook business model.
Instagram? Don’t bother making a superior product, just buy it.
Snapchat? Buy it.
What’sApp? Buy it.
Oculus? Buy it.
Cruise AV? Bought it. And put Amman in charge.
GM has ICE figured out, but nailing BEV will be a lot faster if they just buy, or partner with smaller companies who are farther ahead of the curve.
Does this mean you can get a truck with a built-in Alexa? I’ve always thought that would be cool.
Would like to know more about it
GM had the chance to buy Toyota, VW in the 70’s and Tesla in the 00’s. It would be wise not to repeat those mistakes.
GM cannot buy out it’s competition to remain successful. That money has to come from somewhere, and it only comes from making cars people want, be it the fuel-efficient Toyota’s of the 70’s, the diesels VW’s of the 80’s, or the EV’s from Tesla today.
Chrysler bought AMC for Jeep and that paid in major dividends, GM bought Daewoo and parts of that old company still exists for 2-3 world market dovelopment, even Toyota bought Subaru. It’s not always about rubbing out competition but why spend precious R&D $$$ when it’s been done already?.