Rivian’s Electric Truck Attracts Attention from General Motors and Amazon

February 15, 2019 – It is not a done deal yet but suburban Detroit-based Rivian, an electric vehicle (EV) startup, may soon receive up to $2 billion USD from General Motors and Amazon. Rivian is the developer of the R1T (TM), an all-electric five-passenger pickup truck that will offer a mileage range of up to 640 kilometers (400 miles).

The concept EV was on display at the Los Angeles Car show last November, and rumor has it that an investment deal may come today according to Bloomberg. The suggested price for Rivian’s all-electric truck is $61,500 USD.

How does the Rivian’s price compare to a Ford F-150, the truck that is the most popular vehicle of its class in North America?

The F-150 and its competitors, Dodge Ram, and the Chevy Silverado, come in at a base price of just under $42,000 so they remain a better buy in initial investment, but not necessarily over the long term based on operating and fuel costs. Also the entry-level Rivian’s range will have a range limit of 320 kilometers (200 miles) between charges. No pricing has yet been announced for the model with better mileage range.

Rivian made a big splash states the Los Angeles Times when it debuted at the L.A. Show. Founder R. J. Scaringe, was introduced as “the version of Elon Musk you’d want your daughter to marry.” Scaringe has put together an EV that he describes as designed for off and on-road adventures. It comes with four 147-kilowatt electric motors, one placed at each wheel. There is no drive train, and no motor under the hood in front.

The company has been operating for nine years in “stealth” mode, buoyed up by early investors that include Sumitomo Corp., and Abdul Latif Jameel Co., a Saudi-based conglomerate.

Why would General Motors want to invest in Rivian? Isn’t this direct competition for its very profitable small truck business? GM may see in Rivian a way to get an EV truck on the market sooner that it could put into its distribution system, a way to bolster the company’s latest commitments to shift the goal posts to an electric future. The company has stated it will introduce more than 20 EV models into its lineup by 2023.

Why Amazon? Because Amazon Prime wants to put in place a fleet of fast-delivery vehicles that speak to shareholders as being state-of-the-art, and environmentally friendly.

The amount of money being talked about is between $1 and 2 billion to start.

Competition is expected from Ford who has made announcements to have its own F-150 hybrid and all EV pickup truck on the market in the near future. Tesla has rumoured that it too will have an electric pickup to add to its lineup of EVs. And there are some new startups equally looking to break into the electric truck market including Bollinger Motors, a New York-based company, that claims on its website to already have 20,000 reservations for its B1 EV which it expects to start manufacturing in 2020.