It was just three months ago when Rivian announced that it had reached an agreement to produce electric vans in Europe. Something that, finally, seems that it is not going to happen. In a newly published statement, RJ Scaringe, the company’s CEO, now states that Rivian will not maintain its agreement with the German manufacturer.
“We have decided to put on hold contacts with the commercial vehicle division of Mercedes-Benz, in connection with the collaboration agreement we reached the beginning of the year for the joint production of vans in Europe.”
From Rivian they explain that in the future they will take the utmost care when making capital investments, making sure to obtain the expected returns. Likewise, they assure that they will focus on their current businesses since in the short term they are the best way to obtain greater added value for the company.
In any case, the American startup has wanted to make it clear that they are not ruling out a collaboration with Mercedes-Benz in the future when conditions allow it and it turns out to be an interesting option for the company.
That’s how it all happened
Last September, the commercial vehicle division of Mercedes-Benz and Rivian reached an agreement for the creation of a joint venture in equal parts dedicated to the production of electric vans in a new plant, which would be located in Poland, Hungary, or Romania. . If everything had followed its normal course, the first vans resulting from this alliance should leave the production line in a few years.
Both companies had planned to put two van models on the market, of course, electric. The first one is based on the VAN.EA platform from Mercedes-Benz, and the second on the RLV platform -Rivian Light Van- from the American startup.
At Mercedes-Benz, they claim to respect Rivian’s decision and affirm that this change of position will not affect the calendar established in the company’s electrification strategy. Therefore, this means that production scaling at the Polish Jawor plant will not be affected.
