Mercedes-Benz and Rivian announced new commercial electric cars
Mercedes-Benz has joined forces with the U.S. startup Rivian to produce commercial electric cars. The companies have signed an agreement on the creation of a joint project, which will include an enterprise for the production of electric cars. It is planned that production facilities will be located in Europe. So far, the parties are considering the country, choosing Poland, Romania, and Hungary.
The companies want to produce battery-powered vans, and for this purpose, they are developing a joint model, the preliminary name of which is VAN.EA. So far, the parties are discussing all the details of the partnership, but they promise that active development will start soon. It is assumed that VAN.EA will become a new platform for the market, on the basis of which various models of electric cars under the Mercedes brand will be produced. The German corporation is taking this step as part of an ambitious strategy, according to which from 2025 the concern will produce commercial vehicles exclusively powered by electric motors. The partnership with Rivian will make it possible to improve technology and create an ideal vehicle for cargo transportation. The companies share the common goal of introducing efficient electric truck options to the market, which will reduce emissions and accelerate the transition to carbon neutrality.
Mercedes chose Rivian as a partner for a reason. The American startup has been developing electric cars since 2009. During that time, it has presented a number of innovative technologies that have practical significance for the development of electric vehicles, including commercial vehicles.
The companies will jointly create two models of electric trucks – the VAN.EA from Mercedes, and the Light Van from Rivian. Production will take place at a new plant in Europe, which will be owned by the American startup. Mercedes, in turn, is planning to upgrade its facilities in Germany, where it currently produces all of its commercial vehicles. For now, the company does not intend to open new plants in other countries to produce trucks but wants to optimize its production to cut costs.
It should be noted that the outlined partnership is beneficial for both parties. For Mercedes, the cooperation with Rivian is an excellent opportunity to use its state-of-the-art technological platform of innovative solutions in the field of electric vehicles. Rivian, in turn, gets an excellent chance to increase production volumes and present itself on the European market. Recently, the American company has been taking various steps to increase production at its plant located in Illinois. However, due to difficulties with supplies, it was rather difficult to do this. As a result, the company decided to reduce the number of employees and postpone the production date of new models.
