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GM, Amazon May Buy Stakes in Rivian EV Startup
General Motors and Amazon may invest in Rivian Automotive LLC, the Michigan-based startup that hopes to launch an all-electric pickup truck in 2020, sources tell Reuters.
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General Motors and Amazon are pondering investments in Rivian Automotive LLC, the Michigan-based startup that hopes to launch an all-electric pickup truck by the end of 2020, sources tell Reuters.
The GM-Amazon investments would value Rivian at $1 billion-$2 billion. Reuters’ sources say the deal could be announced later this month, if all goes well.
Rivian aims to launch the $69,000 R1T pickup (pictured) next year, followed by an SUV/crossover variant. The company is preparing the former Mitsubishi Motors Corp. factory in Normal, Ill., to build both models.
The vehicles will sit atop a “skateboard” platform that contains the battery, traction motors, suspension and power control system. GM unveiled a similar concept, called AUTOnomy and designed to use fuel cells rather than a battery, in 2002.
Rivian’s existing investors are led by Saudi vehicle distributor Abdul Latif Jameel ($500 million), Standard Chartered Banks ($200 million) and Sumitomo Corp. (undisclosed investment).
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