One of the most anticipated launches in the EV space is the Rivian pickup and SUV models that roll on the Skateboard platform. Rivan received a significant investment from Ford in April when the Blue Oval invested $500 million in the company and gained access to the Skateboard platform for a future vehicle. Rumors have suggested that the first vehicle from the Blue Oval to use the Skateboard platform may be Lincoln SUV.
A new report indicates that Rivian has raised $1.3 billion in a funding round that included Ford, Amazon, and other investors. Amazon has placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery trucks. Rivian has yet to produce a vehicle despite the heavy investing that the company has seen so far. The first Rivian vehicles are expected to roll off the assembly line in late 2020.
The latest round of fundraising by Rivian was led by T- Rowe Price and included money from multiple companies with no hard details on investors offered. The last round of financing that closed was the fourth funding round in 2019, and with the new round complete, the company reportedly raised as much as $3 billion since it starting raising funds in 2018.
Rivian is going to need to scale production quickly as the first of the 100,000 EVs that Amazon has ordered are set to be delivered in 2021. Amazon noted when the order was announced that it was the most significant order of EVs to date. Amazon is responsible for much of the growth in the commercial van industry with its need for delivery vehicles to get its packages to their destinations. Rivian’s consumer vehicles include the R1T and R1S, which are essentially the same other than the body with a 400-mile range, prices start at $68,000.
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Source: Forbes
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