Amazon Investment: Will Rivian EVs Move Packages?

Amazon (AMZN) and electric vehicle producer Rivian are teaming up. On Friday, Rivian announced a $700 million investment round led by Amazon.

The move comes at the heels of the electric auto manufacturer unveiling its first all-electric vehicles – the R1T pickup and R1S SUV - at the Los Angeles Auto Show in November. Rivian said it will start deliveries of the R1T and R1S in late 2020.

The electric vehicles from Rivian are designed to deliver up to 400 plus miles of range per battery charge and use a “skateboard” design that allows for the internal components to fit any body style, according to the company. The vehicles also feature a 180-kW battery pack, that is twice the size of the largest offering from Tesla, CNBC reported.

“This investment is an important milestone for Rivian and the shift to sustainable mobility,” RJ Scaringe, Rivian CEO and founder, said in a statement.

“Beyond simply eliminating compromises that exist around performance, capability and efficiency, we are working to drive innovation across the entire customer experience. Delivering on this vision requires the right partners, and we are excited to have Amazon with us on our journey to create products, technology and experiences that reset expectations of what is possible.”

Amazon is participating in the first round of investments, which are anticipated to also include GM going forward, CNBC reported. In a statement, GM said, “We admire Rivian's contribution to a future of zero-emissions and an all-electric future.” The equity investment from GM has not been announced yet.

Rivian is being compared to rivals Tesla, GM, and Ford that are each developing electric-powered trucks for sale in the U.S. Globally, Rivian has more than 750 employees throughout Plymouth, Michigan; San Jose and Irvine, California; Normal, Illinois; and Surrey, England.

This is not the first investment by Amazon into developing vehicle technologies as the company partnered with Sequoia, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Shell Ventures, and others for a stake in Aurora, an autonomous vehicle technology startup company. At the time, the company had about a $2.5 billion valuation, CNBC reported.

While it is not completely clear why Amazon is making investments into electric and driverless vehicle technology, industry analysts are speculating that Amazon may be investing in these developments to spur vehicles for its own delivery logistics.

Amazon has been looking for new solutions to change its delivery process and these technologies may provide the answer it is looking for, CNBC reported. Both electric and autonomous vehicles could offer Amazon an environmentally-friendly and efficient way to move from its reliance on the USPS and UPS for package deliveries.

“We’re inspired by Rivian’s vision for the future of electric transportation,” Jeff Wilke, Amazon Worldwide Consumer CEO at Amazon, said. “RJ has built an impressive organization, with a product portfolio and technology to match. We’re thrilled to invest in such an innovative company.”

Shares of Amazon stock were down 0.79 percent as of 2:20 p.m. EST on Friday.