As if investments from Amazon and Ford weren’t reason enough to take note of Rivian Automotive, a six-figure order by Jeff Bezos has elevated the electric-vehicle upstart — all before it’s made its first truck or SUV.
The billionaire announced plans Thursday to buy 100,000 electric vans from Rivian, custom-built for Prime deliveries, as part of an Amazon environmental initiative designed to meet the goals of the Paris climate accord 10 years early. The deal follows a $700 million investment in Rivian that the online retailer led in February.
The order is a major coup for a company that is aiming to launch its R1T plug-in pickup and R1S sport utility vehicle late next year. While financial terms of the deal weren’t released, Amazon’s purchase positions Rivian with a major customer well before CEO R.J. Scaringe begins to test the waters with consumers who’ve been slow to go electric. Segment leader Tesla didn’t deliver more than 100,000 vehicles in a year until 2017, almost a decade after the arrival of its debut model, the Roadster.
“It’s a very significant deal,” said Mike Ramsey, an automotive analyst with consultant Gartner. “It means we have a new automaker, for real.”
