Ford’s BlueCruise hands-free highway driving assist feature has expanded rapidly since it launched a few years ago, and was available in a half-million Blue Oval vehicles by the conclusion of 2024. FoMoCo also recently lowered the price of BlueCruise , though it is facing an investigation from the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) due to a pair of fatal crashes that occurred with stationary vehicles with that feature activated. Now, one of The Blue Oval’s rivals – Rivian – reportedly plans to launch its own BlueCruise type of feature this year, too.
According to Reuters, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe just announced that the company intends to launch its own hands-free driver assistance system in 2025. Currently, Rivian vehicles are equipped with what’s known as the Rivian Autonomy Platform, which provides some layers of driver assistance, but still requires them to maintain control of the vehicle and provide continuous attention when it’s activated.
This announcement comes as Rivian met its adjusted production goal in 2024, building a total of 49,476 vehicles last year, a bit more than its target of 47,000-49,000 units, but fewer than its original goal of 57,000 vehicles. Rivian produced 12,727 trucks and vans during Q4 and managed to deliver 51,579 vehicles throughout the entire year, with 14,183 of those deliveries taking place in the fourth quarter. The automaker was previously limited by supply chain constraints, but recently stated that it’s no longer dealing with that particular problem.
Additionally, Rivian and Volkswagen recently launched a joint venture that will create next generation EV platforms, which will then be used in future electric vehicles from both brands. In the short term, Volkswagen will utilize Rivian’s existing electrical architecture and software platform in its own future EVs, and will also make a $5 billion dollar investment in that company as well. In November, the company signed a deal with LG Energy Solutions that will result in the automaker receiving 67 GWh of 4695 cylindrical batteries over the next five years, too.
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