When Ford announced that starting in 2023 its cars and trucks would come with Google Maps, Assistant and Play Store preinstalled, CEO Jim Farley called the partnership between his iconic U.S. automaker and the search giant a chance to “reinvent” the automobile — making it an office-on-wheels.
And, finally, Ford — under its new CEO, Farley — tried to do them all one better, inking a deal to have the carmaker’s engineers work directly with Google software designers to embed technology into the vehicle while also creating a self-driving car.
The relationship is heavily in Amazon’s favor: the e-commerce giant has exclusive rights to Rivian’s vans for the next four years, though it isn’t obligated to buy any of them at all and Amazon maintains the rights to buy from other automakers.