Some of you might already know that Amazon has a long-term partnership with Rivian to introduce electric vehicles in its delivery fleet and the company wants to replace all of its delivery vans to EVs by the end of this decade and that is the reason why they were in an exclusive deal with the EV manufacturer by the end of last year. However, Rivian’s plans changed and they backed out of an exclusive deal with Amazon which stated that they couldn’t deliver vans to its e-commerce competitors. Everyone thought that this could be the beginning of the end of partnership between Rivian and Amazon.
However, it does not seem like that at all from the announcement by Amazon that they have started exporting the Rivian vans to Europe starting with Germany. It is worth noting that the Rivian vans used in the US were different to what the Rivian vans will be in Europe because of the streets of Europe which are much narrower in comparison to the US highways and streets.
Rivian’s statement read that “We’re thrilled to see the EDV rolling out in Germany today. This vehicle was designed in conjunction with our partners at Amazon and not only puts driver convenience and safety first, but also the environment. We’ve had incredible feedback from drivers in the US and we’re excited to start international expansion in Germany. Today is a real milestone for us as it also marks the first Rivian vehicles in Europe and we’re very excited about our future in the region”.
It is also worth noting that “The first 300 EDVs will first hit the streets of Germany, followed by Munich, Berlin, and Dusseldorf”. Amazon says that these vehicles will become a part of thousands of EVs already running across Europe, and it plans to deploy 1000 EVs just for Germany. Rivian says that it is already producing vehicles at a faster rate compared to what it had planned originally, which is the reason why it wants to deliver vans to other companies so as to minimize overstock and be profitable as early as possible for the company and shareholders’ benefit.
