Ford and Rivian halt plans to jointly develop electric cars
Ford confirmed Friday that Ford Motor Company and Rivian Automotive have dropped plans to jointly develop an electric vehicle.
"We respect Rivian and have had extensive exploratory discussions with them," a Ford spokesperson told Reuters. “However, both sides agreed not to pursue any kind of joint vehicle development or platform sharing.”
Ford owns about 12% of California-based electric car maker Rivian, which went public on November 10, already 1-2 times more than the 118-year-old Michigan automaker.
Ford CEO Jim Farley revealed the break in a story published on Friday by Automotive News.
The proposed vehicle has not been identified.
Ford owns 12% of Rivian
In October, a Ford spokesperson told Reuters: "Rivian is a strategic investment and we are still looking at ways to potentially collaborate with them."
Ford earlier scrapped a plan to build a new Lincoln out of an EV chassis and Rivian hardware.
Ford continues to advance its development and manufacture of electric vehicles, targeting a global production capacity of 600,000 by late 2023.
Rivian, backed by Amazon and Ford, has outstripped Volkswagen's $137 billion market capitalization, as investors pour in cash and eager to enter the electric car sector, and they now have another stock to invest in, regardless of industry. Trailblazer Tesla Inc.
It's another sign that froth is creeping back into the market," said Matthew Malley, chief market strategist at Miller Tabak.
He continued, "There is still an emergency level of liquidity flowing into the system long after the emergency has ended."
Lucid Group Inc. also rose. , the counterpart to electric cars, rose strongly on Tuesday, closing 24% higher and topping Ford's valuation in the process. Lucid is now a $91 billion company, compared to $79 billion for Ford.
Source: Reuters
