EV maker Rivian bags USD 2.5 Bn in a funding round led by Amazon, Ford
American electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive LLC reportedly secured USD 2.5 billion in a funding round led by Amazon.com Inc, T. Rowe Price, D1 Capital Partners, and Ford Motor Co.
In addition, the event also saw participation from Fidelity Management and Research Co, Third Point, Coatue, and Dragoneer Investment Group.
The company revealed that it has been planning to establish a second US assembly plant, as it moves closer to the commencement of its all-electric pickup and SUV production.
If reports are to be believed, this planned plant of Rivian has been coined, ‘Project Tera’ and might include battery cell production.
Rivian, headquartered in Plymouth, Michigan was founded by Robert R.J. Scaringe in 2009 with its manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois. The company has raised about USD 10.5 billion since its inception and is seeking a valuation of over USD 50 billion later in 2021, in a potential public listing.
Scaringe, also the CEO of Rivian is of the opinion that this funding will benefit the company in scaling novel vehicle programs which will, in turn, flourish the company’s domestic facility footprint, leading to escalating international product rollout.
With Europe and China establishing stricter emission regulations, several automakers have been focusing on introducing advanced electric vehicles to comply with the new norms. Rivian for instance is currently working on launching the R1S SUV, a delivery van for Amazon, as well as its R1T pickup truck.
In this context, the CEO said that the company had considered following the 3 vehicles with smaller versions targeted at Europe and China for building vehicles.
Meanwhile, Scaringe notified that the deliveries of the R1T pickup trucks have been delayed until September, while the R1S has been postponed until fall because of the COVID-19 pandemic.
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