Rivian will make 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon

Posted on September 19, 2019
Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced the purchase Thursday. (Photo TechCrunch/Twitter)

 

By Neil Doyle

NORMAL – Electric vehicle maker Rivian will be adding new delivery vans to its lineup.

Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced Thursday the company has agreed to purchase 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian.  Bezos said the purchase is part of Amazon’s plan to tackle climate change, according to CNBC.  Bezos said the first electric delivery vans will be on the road between 2021 and 2024.

Rivian, which runs the old Mitsubishi Motors plant in Normal, received a $700 million investment led by Amazon in February. The electric automaker announced two other major investments from Ford Motor Company and Cox Automotive, totaling the investments over $1 billion.

Rivian will also build its electric R1S SUV and R1T pickup truck. Those are planned to be launched late next year.

Neil Doyle can be reached at [email protected]

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