After Amazon, Rivian can land a new major customer. With AT&T, the company also gains an exclusive connectivity provider.
• Rivian ends exclusive contract with Amazon
• New deal with AT&T
• Strong interest in Rivian Commercial Vans and R1 vehicles
Exclusive contract with Amazon ended
A few years ago, the US internet giant Amazon entered into an exclusive contract with the electric car manufacturer and Tesla competitor Rivian. This involves purchasing 100,000 Rivian transports for the company. The goal is to put 100,000 Rivian vans on the roads for Amazon by 2030. Just a few weeks ago, the two companies reached a milestone as part of the deal: 10,000 Rivian vehicles are already in operation for the online mail order company in Europe and North America.
However, as a press release from Rivian shows, the exclusivity is now over. In November, the company announced that it would end the exclusive contract with its largest shareholder, Amazon, for electric delivery vans. This should open the door to additional customers around the world. However, the order of 100,000 deliveries to Amazon by 2030 should still be fulfilled, as the Reuters news agency reports. Rivian also stated that it is already in discussions with other potential customers who are interested in the Rivian Commercial Vehicle platform. However, no specific names were initially mentioned.
“We are pleased to enable the sale of our electric commercial vehicle to additional companies. Around a quarter of the CO2 emitted by the transportation sector in the US comes from commercial vehicles. Therefore, it is essential that we do everything we can as quickly as possible to help reduce emissions,” said RJ Scaringe, CEO of Rivian. “Amazon remains an important partner for us, and we look forward to continuing to work closely with the Amazon team and helping them achieve their Climate Pledge goal,” the press release said.
First new customer: AT&T
Rivian’s first partner after exclusivity has ended has now been announced: AT&T. On December 14, the US electric car manufacturer said in a press release that it had entered into an agreement with AT&T to purchase Rivian electric vehicles for the North American telecommunications group’s fleet. AT&T expects to begin adding the Rivian Commercial Van and R1 vehicles to its fleet by early 2024 “to begin evaluating the various ways these vehicles will help improve safety, reduce costs and reduce the carbon footprint,” it says.
AT&T relied on Rivian’s electric vehicles to electrify its commercial fleet and achieve its goal of carbon neutrality by 2035. The collaboration includes reducing emissions through route optimization, switching to hybrid and electric vehicles, and fleet optimization using AI. AT&T is already achieving sustainability success by driving 20 percent fewer miles annually, saving 51 million pounds of emissions. Rivian, in turn, benefits from exclusive connectivity through AT&T, enabling over-the-air software updates and creating a smart, safe driving experience. The Rivian Commercial Van focused on safety, sustainability and low operating costs, with features such as automatic emergency braking and a proprietary software stack for efficient fleet management.
“We are pleased to purchase Rivian electric vehicles for our fleet. This pilot is another important step in our ongoing efforts to achieve sustainability, reduce our carbon footprint and create a cleaner future for our operations. With advanced connectivity and vision “For a sustainable future, Rivian is setting the standard for the evolving needs of modern transportation,” said Hardmon Williams, SVP at AT&T Connected Solutions, in the press release.
And Rivian is also happy about the new partnership: “We couldn’t be happier to work with AT&T as we work together to reduce emissions and protect our environment.” Around a quarter of the CO2 emitted by the transportation sector in the USA comes from commercial vehicles. It is therefore essential that we do everything we can to help reduce emissions as quickly as possible. Our category-defining vehicles feature some of the most advanced technologies in the industry and are continually improved through over-the-air updates. We look forward to expanding our relationship with AT&T to help them achieve their climate goals,” said Dagan Mishoulam, VP, Strategy & Fleet at Rivian, in the release.
And the news about the Rivian-AT&T deal was also well received on the stock market. Rivian shares gained 13.97 percent following the announcement of the new partnership on December 14 via NASDAQ. The electric vehicle manufacturer’s shares were most recently trading at $23.54, which means the paper has already gained a full 27.73 percent this year (as of December 28, 2023).
Huge interest
Environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) targets as well as emissions reduction targets for companies have recently sparked a race to convert to zero-emission fleets, Reuters reports. However, high interest rates have made it more expensive for customers to purchase electric vehicles, as they tend to be more expensive than their gasoline-powered counterparts. This raised fears that demand could decline. However, Rivian explains that there is also “great interest and great demand” beyond Amazon. However, Rivian declined to disclose further potential customers to Reuters. It therefore remains to be seen whether and when further deals will come about.
Editorial team finanzen.net
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