[Martinjlm]

Originally Posted by Martinjlm

And on that note....HOTTT of the press (Free Press actually ) Ford invests half a billion in Rivian.

https://www.freep.com/story/money/ca...nt/3559641002/

Originally Posted by Tajefe Couple

Makes perfect sense they've been running there skateboards with an F-150 for testing in Detroit for awhile. Think I saw something once where the main plan is for Rivian to sell off the technology to other manufactures and make tons of money.
https://www.motortrend.com/news/rivi...s-ford-f-150s/

It does make sense, but it is probably not gonna happen exactly like that. I was on the media conference call that Ford and Rivian jointly had and a couple things Jim Hackett said have me going "hmmmm".


The first thing that he said early on in the call, was that the product coming off the Rivian skateboard would be "incremental to our current plan". I took that to mean it would NOT be for a product previously announced. Ford announced the intent to do an F-150 EV in December 2016. So by that measure, Rivian will NOT be providing the underpinnings of the F-150 EV. Makes sense, because with a commitment to the idea in December 2016, Ford obviously has a lot of work into it by now and wouldn't want to just flush that. Also, if you're Rivian in this deal the last thing you wanna do is give Ford the hammer to club you over the head. A Ford F-150 off the Rivian skateboard would compete directly with their R1T, but with better brand recognition.


The other thing he said that got my mental wheels turning was that the product would launch in North America. Later in the Q&A he conceded that it might also eventually wind up overseas, but did not say where. Here's my take on that... Other than F-150 (see previous paragraph) what does Ford do that is primarily North American? Two things come to mind... commercial vehicles (Transit Van) and Lincoln. The skateboard could be used to provide electric Transit Vans for delivery services. Amazon is also an investor in Rivian. Might they benefit from an electric cargo van? Ya damn skippy they would. As for Lincoln, the skateboard could easily be used to produce a Lincoln flagship sedan to compete with Tesla Model S, Porsche Taycan, and other expected large lux sedans that are expected to be electrified over the next 5 - 10 years. Lincoln is just now starting to gain presence in China, so that would play well there. It would also give Lincoln the chance to one up Cadillac, the anointed bearer of the electric torch for GM.

Either (or both) scenario could work.