Ford invests $500 million in electric car startup Rivian

Enlarge / Will startup Rivian be the first company to bring a battery electric truck to market? Deliveries start next year. (credit: Jonathan Gitlin)

On Wednesday morning, Ford announced that it will invest $500 million in the electric vehicle startup Rivian. Assuming regulatory approval, the two will form a strategic partnership, with Ford taking a minority stake in Rivian. Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of automotive, will get a seat on Rivian’s board, but more importantly, Ford will use Rivian’s battery EV platform to build a new Blue Oval-badged BEV.

“This strategic partnership marks another key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility. Ford has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, with Bill Ford being one of the industry’s earliest advocates, and we are excited to use our technology to get more electric vehicles on the road” said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO.

“As we continue in our transformation of Ford with new forms of intelligent vehicles and propulsion, this partnership with Rivian brings a fresh approach to both,” said Jim Hackett, Ford president and CEO. “At the same time, we believe Rivian can benefit from Ford’s industrial expertise and resources.”