Rivian Plans To Sell An Electric SUV In 2020 — Behind The Hype On The Would-Be Tesla Rival

#News(General) [ via IoTGroup ]

As the company looks to sell its first cars in 2020, we take a closer look to see if Rivian can live up to the hype.
The company has yet to sell a single electric vehicle, but has raised billions from big name investors including Ford and Amazon.
Meanwhile, videos of Rivian’s “adventure-ready” electric vehicles continue to make the rounds on social media.
Rivian has disclosed raising approximately $1.9B from investors (as of 8/6/2019) across 6 separate funding rounds since 2011, all without selling a single vehicle.
However, Rivian’s 6 disclosed investors also double as its strategic partners, and these relationships could be the key to the company’s ability to deliver.
Rivian will be granted access to Ford’s industrial expertise and resources in exchange for its so-called “skateboard platform” — a proprietary flatbed frame for an electric car that is capable of housing the batteries, suspension, individual motors for each wheel, cooling system, braking mechanism, and more.
Ford will likely build its future line of electric vehicles on top of Rivian’s skateboard technology.
The partnership hints at the possibility that Rivian could become an important supplier to auto incumbents that want to skip the R&D investment involved in designing an electric car from scratch.
Strategically, Rivian has chosen to focus on range anxiety, or the fear that an electric vehicle will run out of power before the driver can reach a charging station.
Rivian’s entry-level cars hope to offer more range than a top-spec Tesla, which has helped the company gain attention.
Rivian’s cars are built with a common electric vehicle charging port supported by ChargePoint, a startup creating a nationwide charging network for EVs. However, Rivian’s compatibility with ChargePoint is not a strategic advantage over Tesla.
Rivian’s SUVs will reportedly come equipped with “vehicle-to-vehicle charging” for drivers in off-grid situations to link up and share a charge.

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