The EDV, Rivian’s electric van was designed for Amazon. But the manufacturer is currently negotiating the possibility of opening orders to other customers to increase its production and profitability.
Faced with a financial situation that remains unstable, the young manufacturer can still count on the support of its shareholder Amazon, who also happens to be an important customer. But this strong presence of the e-commerce giant is also a handicap. Indeed, the EDV (Electric Delivery Van) was designed for Amazon, following a commitment to order 100,000 copies in 10 years. And it has an exclusive contract that prevents Rivian from offering this model to other customers.
For 2023, Amazon has confirmed an order for 10,000 units of the EDV. Either in the low end of what is provided for in the contract, which does not help Rivian’s business, which would like to take advantage of this model to boost its production figures a little. The Normal (Illinois) plant assembled 24,337 vehicles in 2022, around a third of which were vans.
The manufacturer has therefore entered into discussions with its shareholder/customer to lift this exclusivity. This would be a great opportunity for Rivian in a high-potential market. More vans sold would help Rivian stabilize its situation and fund the development of the more affordable R2 range deemed essential to the company’s long-term future.
Read also
Rivian wants to end Amazon exclusivity on its EDV electric van
