Rivian Automotive LLC, the electric vehicle manufacturer, was energized this week after it received an order for 100,000 delivery vans from online behemoth Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN).
Plymouth, Michigan-based Rivian is developing the R1T and R1S line of electric trucks and SUVs. The company has raised nearly US$1.9 billion from investors, including a $700 million round led by Amazon in February.
The order catapults Rivian into Tesla Inc’s (NASDAQ:TSLA) line of sight, as the latter company was reportedly in talks to supply Amazon with its own electric vans.
READ: Amazon.com posts below-forecast second-quarter earnings as operating expenses jump on increased Prime delivery costs
Backers of the ten-year-old company include Ford Motor Company (NYSE:F), which invested US$500 million in April.
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos told investors on Thursday that the electric vehicles are part of the online retailer’s plan to be carbon neutral by 2040. Deliveries of the vans are expected to start in 2021, with a goal to deploy all vehicles by 2024.
The vans will be manufactured at Rivian’s plant in Illinois.
Last week, Rivian announced a US$350 million investment from auto services company Cox Automotive. The two companies will also explore partnership opportunities in service operations, logistics and digital retailing.
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