Electric vehicle (EV) maker Rivian will begin selling its commercial delivery vans to more companies than just the e-commerce giant Amazon, the Plymouth, Michigan-based automaker said today.
Amazon, which ordered a whopping 100,000 vehicles from Rivian in 2019, is also an investor in the 14-year-old startup. The Seattle online retailer has participated in two of the venture capital rounds that had raised some $1.85 billion for Rivian by 2019. Amazon received the first of those electric vehicles in 2021, and plans to have all 100,000 active by 2030.
“Rivian and Amazon share a mission to decarbonize last mile delivery and have been working together since 2019 to make that a reality,” Udit Madan, vice president of transportation at Amazon, said in a release. “This has been part of our plan with Rivian from the beginning – we’ve always said that we want others to benefit from their technology in the long run because having more electric delivery vehicles on the road is good for our communities and our planet.”
By opening its catalog to other buyers, Rivian is planning to expand beyond the sales of its existing products, the R1T pickup truck and the R1S sport utility vehicle (SUV). The firm’s Commercial Van series includes a Delivery 500 model made for city streets and tight corners and a Delivery 700 model made for more cargo and extra storage. Both types offer payloads over 2,500 pounds and ranges over 150 miles.
“We’re excited to open sales of our electric commercial van to more businesses. Around a quarter of CO2 emitted in the transportation sector in the US comes from commercial vehicles, so it’s imperative we do all we can as soon as possible to help cut emissions,” RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian, said in the release. “Amazon is, and will remain, a key partner for us, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Amazon team as we help them to achieve their Climate Pledge goal.”
