Rivian and Mercedes-Benz partner up for electric vans
by Umar Shakir from The Verge - All Posts on (#63D6G)
Image: Mercedes-Benz / Rivian Mercedes-Benz and Rivian have formed a new joint venture to build bespoke large" commercial electric vans, the companies announced Thursday.
The companies signed a memorandum of understanding to start a strategic partnership that will invest in a new plant, with its target set on using an existing Mercedes-Benz site in Central or Eastern Europe. This marks Rivian's first foothold in the continent; the automaker only has one manufacturing facility in the US.
There will be two van models, one built on Mercedes' Vans Electric Architecture (VAN.EA) platform and the other on Rivian's second-generation electric van platform, called Rivian Light Van (RLV). Mercedes-Benz has been building commercial vans for more than two decades and has...