Mercedes and Rivian have teamed up to make electric vans together. Both companies have signed up the deal to start a new venture together to manufacture vans in Europe. Although Mercedes-Benz and Rivian have partnered up, they will build two separate models coming from each brand.
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Mercedes and Rivian will form a new company to lead the investment and operations of their factory in central and eastern Europe. The Vans will be built at the current Mercedes factory with a new facility made solely for electric vehicles. Both automakers will partner up to design and manufacture their electric vehicle more efficiently. We are unsure of the time when it will happen as the information is still not official yet.
Mercedes-Benz’s official press release shares that the production will begin after a few years. The electric vehicle will utilize Mercedes’ VAN.EA platform developed for electric vehicles. It shared that the platform will make electric-only vans starting in 2025. The new electric-only van will be built on Rivian’s 2nd-gen RLV architecture. With the new partnership, we expect the electric van to cost low for commercial buyers due to this joint project. Both will increase production at a rapid scale to make the transition easy for every EV buyer and expected to cut major costs.
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Mathias Geisen, Head of Mercedes-Benz Vans said he is delighted to be a part of this transformation. He is happy that the two companies are joining hands with a company with dynamic a strong technological position in the industry. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the EV maker is also delighted for the partnership with Mercedes-Benz for the project.
Rivian has also made a similar agreement in 2021 to build electric vehicles with Ford and has also partnered with Amazon to build all-electric delivery vans. The agreement with Mercedes-Benz is in place, however, doesn’t promise anything like a done deal. The uncertain timeline gives both carmakers plenty of time to go through and adjust the plans according to their deal. We will update you about the information as more details come out.