Output of electric powered Amazon delivery vans on April 11, 2022 at Rivian’s plant in Standard, Sick.
Michael Wayland / CNBC
Mercedes-Benz and Rivian reported Thursday they are organizing a joint undertaking to build significant, electrical professional vans for both equally brands.
The corporations system to create two diverse EV vans – just one for each individual firm – on a shared assembly line, the businesses mentioned. The idea is to cut down costs for the two companies by sharing investments, technological innovation and suppliers.
They prepare to build a new EV-only output facility at an existing Mercedes-Benz manufacturing unit web-site in Central or Japanese Europe, with generation setting up in “a handful of many years,” the two organizations mentioned in a statement.
“Mercedes‑Benz Vans has gained broad practical experience in creating and launching eVans because 2010. Now we are accelerating the transformation to a fully electric product or service portfolio,” mentioned Mathias Geisen, head of Mercedes’ business van unit. “We are sharing investments and know-how [with Rivian] since we also share the similar strategic ambition: accelerating the electrification of the van industry with sustainable and remarkable products for our shoppers.”
While Mercedes-Benz has been making industrial autos for numerous a long time, and electric vans for over a ten years, Rivian is a newcomer to the section. The Michigan-primarily based EV startup commenced setting up EV supply vans for Amazon earlier this 12 months, just a couple of months after it began production of its have upscale electric powered pickups and SUVs in its Illinois manufacturing facility.
Although the vans Mercedes and Rivian will in the end make will possible be equivalent, they’re going to be diverse designs: Mercedes’ will be based on its impending new EV van architecture, set to debut in 2025 Rivian’s on the next-era variation of the light van system it developed for Amazon.
