Ford partners with electric car company Rivian

Ford has announced a NZ$758 million investment in Rivian, an electric car start-up company.

Rivian revealed their R1T fully electric pickup, with a range of over 640km, torque figure of 14,000Nm, and ‘skateboard’ ethos, rivalling Tesla. Ford aims to build a future Ford EV on Rivian’s skateboard platform.

Ford’s upcoming F-150 is an electric pickup, and a Mustang-inspired hybrid SUV has been in discussion. Ford’s partnership with Rivian will sit alongside these models.

Ford and Tesla’s chief executive officer Elon Musk have had a notorious internet rivalry.

“This strategic partnership marks another key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility,” says Rivian chief executive officer and founder RJ Scaringe.

“Ford has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, with Bill Ford being one of the industry’s earliest advocates, and we are excited to use our technology to get more electric vehicles on the road.”