Ford drops plans for EV with Rivian, showing faith in its own tech

Ford Motor Co.’s decision to scrap plans to develop an electric vehicle with Rivian Automotive Inc. is a sign of the Dearborn automaker’s confidence and focus on the electrification race, experts say.

Rivian made a splash last week on Wall Street with the biggest initial public offering of the year, surpassing the market capitalizations of traditional competitors like Ford. But the Dearborn automaker says it has what it needs to develop and compete with its own vehicles to become a global EV leader. It won’t need to use Rivian’s electric skateboard after all.

R.J. Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO, with Ford Executive Chairman Bill Ford in Dearborn.

“Over a period of time, obviously, Rivian has done some extensive and impressive developments of its technology, and Ford has done likewise,” Ford spokesman TR Reid said. “They have a pretty ambitious vehicle out there, and we have two high-volume vehicles and others to follow. As things have evolved, we decided what is best for us and to proceed from there.”

Ford offers the all-electric, Mexico-built Mustang Mach-E SUV and the E-Transit commercial van at its Kansas City Assembly Plant in Missouri. It will assemble the electric F-150 Lightning pickup truck in Dearborn. Irvine, California-based Rivian in September began delivering its R1T pickup truck from its plant in Normal, Illinois, where it also will assemble SUVs and delivery vans.

“We’ve decided it’s best to further develop separately,” Reid said. “They obviously have got lots of confidence in their platform and rightly so, as they’ve amassed orders for their first vehicle. We like the direction that the Ford team is headed and the progress it has made. We believe our respective capabilities is the way to go.”

It’s the second time the Dearborn automaker and the EV startup have shredded developments plans. Citing the COVID-19 pandemic, the companies in April 2020 said they were no longer collaborating on an EV for Ford’s Lincoln luxury brand.

“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,” Rivian spokeswoman Miranda Jimenez said in a statement.