In April, 2019 Ford invested $500,000 in an electric vehicle innovation company called Rivian. This is the release written on the Rivian website:
EARBORN, Mich., April 24, 2019 – Rivian today announced an equity investment of $500 million from Ford Motor Company. In addition to the investment, the companies have agreed to work together to develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform.
“This strategic partnership marks another key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility,” said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO. “Ford has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, with Bill Ford being one of the industry’s earliest advocates, and we are excited to use our technology to get more electric vehicles on the road.”
“We are excited to invest in and partner with Rivian,” said Bill Ford, Ford’s executive chairman. “I have gotten to know and respect RJ, and we share a common goal to create a sustainable future for our industry through innovation.”
On January 29, 2020, Ford and Rivian revealed that it will build a Lincoln SUV as the first vehicle from this relationship. This will be Lincoln’s first fully electric vehicle, although it has already unveiled two plug-in hybrid versions of its Aviator and Corsair SUVs. Plug-in hybrids have gasoline engines, but operate as fully electric vehicles for relatively short distances after being charged.(www.cnn.com)
We can’t wait to see this SUV and it’s Lincoln luxury style. Anticipated date to hit the showroom is 2022.