American multinational automobile manufacturer Ford Motors and electric vehicle (EV) startup Rivian have canceled the plans to develop an EV together.
The two companies initially announced the development of a joint vehicle when the automaker invested $500 million in Rivian in 2019. Ford will maintain its stake in the EV startup, as per the statement.
“As Ford has scaled its own EV strategy and demand for Rivian vehicles has grown, we’ve mutually decided to focus on our own projects and deliveries,” Rivian spokeswoman Ms. Miranda Jimenez said.
Ms. Jimenez further added, “Our relationship with Ford is an important part of our journey, and Ford remains an investor and ally on our shared path to an electrified future.”
Even though Rivian delivered fewer than 200 vehicles as of the end of last month, but its value nonetheless soared in its November 10 stock market debut, topping those of traditional automakers General Motors and Ford.
Rivian was worth $114 billion at the close on Friday, compared with Ford’s $77 billion. Further, Amazon has ordered 100,000 of Rivian’s electric delivery vans as part of the eCommerce giant’s effort to cut its carbon footprint.
As per the reports, Ford also confirmed the cancellation of the collaboration with Rivian. Ford has begun to roll out its own electric vehicles since its investment in Rivian.
The Mustang Mach E, a sport utility vehicle, has drawn favorable comparisons to competing models from Tesla. Ford expects to begin production of a battery-powered version of its F-150 pickup truck next year, and it has already received tens of thousands of orders.
