Mercedes-Benz and Rivian have signed a first agreement to build vans together. The pair have signed a memorandum of understanding which has yet to remove relevant regulatory hurdles, but the deal would see the two create a new manufacturing joint venture if completed. The company would build two bespoke vans, one for each brand.
Rivian and Mercedes form this new company to lead to the investment and operation of a plant in Central and Eastern Europe. This “electric-only production facility” will use an existing Mercedes plant somewhere on the continent, but the company has not disclosed where. With this agreement, the two plan to design vehicles optimized for “efficient manufacturing”.
46 Pictures
The chronology of this event is ambiguous. In the press release, Mercedes-Benz indicates that production will not start for “a few years”. The facility will build a vehicle based on Mercedes’ VAN.EA platform that will underpin the company’s electric vans. All of the company’s vans running on this platform will be electric-only from 2025. The plant will also produce a van based on Rivian’s second-generation RLV (Rivian Light Van) architecture.
The two companies hope their partnership can lower the cost of electric vans for commercial vehicle owners. The two will “rapidly accelerate” the production of electric vans to facilitate the transition to electric vehicles, hoping that the sharing of investment and costs will reduce prices.
“I am delighted that as part of this transformation, we are now joining forces with Rivian – a very dynamic and inspiring partner with a strong technological position,” said Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said Rivian was also “delighted to partner” with Mercedes on the project.
This isn’t the first partnership for Rivian, which previously had an agreement to build vehicles with Ford. However, that deal ended at the end of 2021. Rivian also has a tie with Amazon, building an all-electric delivery van for the online shopping giant.
This initial agreement is promising, but it is not yet done, and it is not known when it will be. The ambiguous timeline gives the couple a lot of freedom to adjust plans as needed. The two could also explore additional synergies between the companies.
Mercedes-Benz and Rivian have signed a first agreement to build vans together. The pair have signed a memorandum of understanding which has yet to remove relevant regulatory hurdles, but the deal would see the two create a new manufacturing joint venture if completed. The company would build two bespoke vans, one for each brand.
Rivian and Mercedes form this new company to lead to the investment and operation of a plant in Central and Eastern Europe. This “electric-only production facility” will use an existing Mercedes plant somewhere on the continent, but the company has not disclosed where. With this agreement, the two plan to design vehicles optimized for “efficient manufacturing”.
46 Pictures
The chronology of this event is ambiguous. In the press release, Mercedes-Benz indicates that production will not start for “a few years”. The facility will build a vehicle based on Mercedes’ VAN.EA platform that will underpin the company’s electric vans. All of the company’s vans running on this platform will be electric-only from 2025. The plant will also produce a van based on Rivian’s second-generation RLV (Rivian Light Van) architecture.
The two companies hope their partnership can lower the cost of electric vans for commercial vehicle owners. The two will “rapidly accelerate” the production of electric vans to facilitate the transition to electric vehicles, hoping that the sharing of investment and costs will reduce prices.
“I am delighted that as part of this transformation, we are now joining forces with Rivian – a very dynamic and inspiring partner with a strong technological position,” said Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said Rivian was also “delighted to partner” with Mercedes on the project.
This isn’t the first partnership for Rivian, which previously had an agreement to build vehicles with Ford. However, that deal ended at the end of 2021. Rivian also has a tie with Amazon, building an all-electric delivery van for the online shopping giant.
This initial agreement is promising, but it is not yet done, and it is not known when it will be. The ambiguous timeline gives the couple a lot of freedom to adjust plans as needed. The two could also explore additional synergies between the companies.