NYT: Ford to Invest $500 Million in Rivian, a Tesla Rival

[rangerdanger]

I'm more excited about an electric F-150 or Ranger than I am about the Bronco or Ranger Raptor.

NYT: Ford to Invest $500 Million in Rivian, a Tesla Rival

"Ford Motor has agreed to invest $500 million in Rivian, an electric-car start-up that is widely seen as a potential rival to Tesla, Ford announced on Wednesday.

Rivian, based in Plymouth, Mich., plans to begin producing a pickup truck and a sport utility vehicle by the end of next year. Both will be powered by battery packs and are designed to be luxury vehicles that could appeal to many of the consumers drawn to Tesla and its upscale models. The retail giant Amazon led a $700 million investment in Rivian in February.

Ford is counting on the partnership to accelerate its efforts to field a range of electric cars and trucks, while it also pushes to streamline operations, slash costs and increase profitability. The company’s turnaround effort has shown little tangible progress since Jim Hackett became chief executive two years ago. Ford’s stock has fallen about 9 percent since his arrival.

On Thursday, Ford is scheduled to report its first-quarter earnings, and many analysts expect a decline. In 2018, its profits fell more than 50 percent.

...

Ford had already planned to spend $11 billion to develop nearly two dozen electric vehicles, including a small S.U.V. due next year and a version of its F-150 pickup truck. The company plans to use Rivian’s skateboard chassis to produce additional models.

“We can go faster working with Rivian,” said Joe Hinrichs, president of Ford’s global automotive businesses."

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[t4thfavor]

Cool news, but I'll own an electric car/truck when I can own a Mr. Fusion the size of a small garbage can.

 

[kjbeggs]

That Rivian truck concept does look pretty cool though

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