Ford Motor and Rivian confirmed on Friday that they will no longer collaborate on an electric vehicle.
When Ford invested $500 million in Rivian in 2019, the two firms said they were working on a combined vehicle. They then stated that it would be for Ford’s high-end Lincoln brand, but those plans were scrapped last year. At the time, Ford stated that the automakers would continue to look for alternative ways to work.
According to Ford spokesman Ian Thibodeau, those plans have also been cancelled. He claimed the corporation still has ties with Rivian, including a 12 percent ownership in the start-up, which was valued at more than $10 billion at its IPO last week.
“We respect Rivian and have had extensive exploratory discussions with them, however, both sides have agreed not to pursue any kind of joint vehicle development or platform sharing,” Ford said in an emailed statement.
Rivian, which now has a much higher market value than Ford, announced the cancellation of plans on Friday.
“As Ford has scaled its own EV strategy and demand for Rivian vehicles has grown, we’ve mutually decided to focus on our own projects and deliveries. Our relationship with Ford is an important part of our journey, and Ford remains an investor and ally on our shared path to an electrified future,” the company said in an emailed statement.
Rivian’s stock fell approximately 2% in after-hours trade after ending at $128.60 per share, up 3.7 percent. Ford’s shares remained flat at $19.39 per share, down less than 1% from its previous close.
Ford CEO Jim Farley cited the automaker’s “growing confidence” in its ability to “win in the electric space” as justification for ending the partnership.
“When you compare today with when we originally made that investment, so much has changed: about our ability, about the brand’s direction in both cases, and now it’s more certain to us what we have to do. We want to invest in Rivian — we love their future as a company — but at this point we’re going to develop our own vehicles,” he told Automotive News, which first reported the collaboration was dead.