Ford Motor Co., maker of the best-selling F-Series pickup, announced early Wednesday that it is investing $500 million in Rivian, the Michigan-based electric truck startup company.

“Rivian and Ford match up strategically,” said Ford CEO Jim Hackett. “We can learn a lot from each other.”

The match is viewed by analysts as a coup because the company headquartered in Plymouth rebuffed a restrictive arrangement with General Motors, according to Bloomberg. Rivian is a rising darling of the tech and automotive industries as vehicle manufacturers shift toward electrification and consider electric pickups.

The company has the backing of Amazon, the Seattle-based multinational e-commerce marketplace that also specializes in cloud computing and artificial intelligence.

Ford and Rivian have agreed to work together to develop an "all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV (electric vehicle) portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform," Ford said in its statement.

“This strategic partnership marks another key milestone in our drive to accelerate the transition to sustainable mobility,” RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO, said in prepared remarks. “Ford has a long-standing commitment to sustainability, with Bill Ford being one of the industry's earliest advocates, and we are excited to use our technology to get more electric vehicles on the road.”

Later, Scaringe emphasized the importance of Bill Ford’s history “as really one of the early leaders in electrification and sustainability for transportation” who has been driving the issues before they became popular. That’s meant a lot to us and a lot to me.”

Ford, executive chairman of the company founded by his great-grandfather, said in the statement: “We are excited to invest in and partner with Rivian. I have gotten to know and respect RJ, and we share a common goal to create a sustainable future for our industry through innovation.”

Hackett also praised the 36-year-old CEO of Rivian, who earned a PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, saying, "I see a bit of myself in this entrepreneur. Bill felt the same way."

While Ford intends to develop a new vehicle using Rivian’s flexible skateboard platform, this is in addition to Ford’s plans to develop a portfolio of all-electric vehicles. As part of its previously announced $11 billion EV investment, Ford already has confirmed two key fully electric vehicles: a Mustang-inspired crossover coming in 2020 and a zero-emissions version of the best-selling F-150 pickup, the company said.

Ford executives declined to provide details about which type of vehicle will be produced as a result of the partnership with Rivian or when such a vehicle will arrive in the marketplace.

“We have a lot of experience in electrification, but there’s a lot we don’t know and also things we can still learn,” said Joe Hinrichs, Ford’s president of global operations, who noted the automaker is celebrating its 116th year.

'Different flavors'

Hackett added, "Bill and I have been really clear about our march toward a CO2-neutral world. Ford doesn’t have to go all electric for that to work. The customers want choice. This is a key component in completing the portfolio for us.”

Rivian will remain a competitor and build trucks on its own, but executives from both companies indicated there is potential to cut expenses in areas such as sourcing parts and materials.

"We do see significant opportunity, both in terms of cost and in terms of speed, an opportunity to go faster," Hinrichs said.

Ford officials declined to provide specifics on financials.

The partnership will result in a vehicle that wears the Ford badge, Hinrichs noted.

"We’re not discussing today where our vehicle will be manufactured or how we’ll manufacture it," he said, noting that the first application will be in North America.

"We’re not disclosing today what brand, what product, what segment," Hinrichs emphasized when pressed for detail from the investor community on a call about the partnership.

Ford’s massive manufacturing operation won praise from the Rivian CEO, who left open the door on potential partnerships with others in the future.

In referring to the "premium or aspirational space" with regard to electrification, a zone dominated by Elon Musk and Tesla until now, Scaringe said, "I feel it's really important that customers have multiple options — different flavors."

Rivian has been involved in discussion for about a year, he said, talking with potential partners and trying to find "alignment." Scaringe said he was not able to disclose details of the talks or identify the companies involved.

Playing the field

Partnerships and alliances are how the transportation system is evolving, Hinrichs said. "We can learn from each other and compete with each other at the same time.”

Scaringe explained, "We have a very deep respect of what the auto industry is capable of today — over 90 million cars a year without breaking a sweat."



That expertise is essential to the future of Rivian, which is focused on expanding its operations independently.

"There is a lot to learn from companies like Ford," Scaringe said.

The automaker's $500 million investment goes into Rivian; it is not earmarked for a specific Ford project, he said. And the Amazon relationship, which brought another $700 million investment, is "entirely separate," with details not yet discussed or disclosed publicly.

Meanwhile, Ford's latest alliance "does not interfere" with ongoing talks involving Volkswagen and additional partnership there, Hackett said. "This helps us in areas we weren't considering with others."

'Tesla killer'

Tesla is considered a key competitor on these upcoming projects.

Prior to the public announcement, Ford briefed analysts in North America.

“This investment by Ford in Rivian makes tremendous sense for increasing the number of options it has for future electric vehicles between its existing current programs and the addition of Rivian’s electrification platform," said market analyst Jon Gabrielsen, who advises auto manufacturers and parts suppliers.

"At this early stage of market entry with some initial all electric vehicles, it is difficult to know which technological approaches will turn out to be best and how many resources Ford will need to do the development — depending upon the rate that the consumers embrace them. Rivian essentially provides Ford with buffer product development capacity in the event they need it, without the potentially higher expense and time duration to further ramp up their internal EV development operations that rapidly. And if they don’t need much of it they still benefit from ownership in a company selling to others.”

'More eyeballs'

Jeremy Acevedo, manager of industry analysis at Edmunds, praised the move.

"Coming from such an old-school automaker like Ford, this move shows a huge vote of confidence in Rivian and its platform, but also really illustrates Ford's approach toward the mobility revolution. Ford has cobbled together a web of partnerships to boost its portfolio with the latest electric and autonomous technology, which makes sense for the company's bottom line and also allows Ford to leapfrog automakers attempting to navigate the complicated transition to electrification in-house," he said.

"This partnership has the potential to be a home run. Introducing EV technology to larger vehicles, which are Ford's bread-and-butter products, is a critical step for the brand. The association with a cutting-edge startup could also potentially gain more eyeballs from shoppers who've historically leaned more toward Tesla than Ford."

More:Report: Rivian won't give GM what it wants, talks break down

More:Rivian, in Detroit's backyard, nabs $700M Amazon investment. Now what?

More:What we know about Rivian, the electric truck startup based in Michigan

Rivian, which moved to metro Detroit in 2013, unveiled an electric pickup and SUV at the Los Angeles Auto Show in 2018.

The company, which had about 750 employees at its various locations in February, has touted a possible 400-mile-per-charge battery range and been dubbed a "Tesla killer" by some industry watchers. Its focus, however, is on building vehicles for the active lifestyle set; it expects to deliver its vehicles to customers starting late next year.

The investment is subject to customary regulatory approval.

Hinrichs, who earned praise from company executives for putting the deal together, will join Rivian’s board of directors.

Contact Phoebe Wall Howard: 313-222-6512 orphoward@freepress.com.Follow her on Twitter@phoebesaid. Read more on Ford and sign up for our autos newsletter.