By CRM staff
Toronto, Ontario – April 24, 2019 – Ford is moving in on developing more models of electric vehicles. On Wednesday the OEM announced it will be investing $500 million into the electric vehicle start-up company Rivian.
The company has had previous discussions with German OEM Volkswagen about the production of electric vehicles. Ford CEO Jim Hackett confirmed in a conference call Wednesday morning that this new investment wouldn’t interfere with its potential partnership with Volkswagen.
Ford will be developing a next-generation new electric vehicle using Rivian’s “skateboard platform.”
“This strategic partnership marks another key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility,” said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder, and CEO. “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.”
This investment will add to its electric vehicle portfolio as it has previously announced an $11 billion investment into the production of other electric vehicles including 40 hybrid and fully electric vehicles by 2022. The OEM already has plans to release a Mustang-inspired crossover next year and a zero-emissions version of the best-selling F-150 pickup.
“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.”
