Rivian opens sales of plug-in vans once exclusive to Amazon

By Kara Carlson | Bloomberg

Irvine-based Rivian Automotive said it will now sell its electric delivery van designed for Amazon.com to other customers, a move to boost revenue from fleet operators as consumer demand for battery-powered cars slows.

The EV maker’s commercial vehicle can now be purchased by fleets of any size, the company said in a statement on Monday. Rivian has primarily produced the van for Amazon under an exclusivity deal that expired in late 2023. It has also deployed the van to a number of unnamed pilot customers to prepare for the mass market, Rivian said.

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Deliveries are slated to begin in the second quarter, a Rivian spokesperson said.

If it gains traction, the commercial van could become a bigger source of revenue amid a broader slowdown in consumer EV uptake. Rivian reported $742 million worth of sales to Amazon – primarily related to the delivery van — in the first nine months of last year, nearly a quarter of its $3.2 billion in total revenue during the period.

The additional revenue would offer a boost to Rivian as it works to cut costs ahead of launching its more-affordable R2 SUV. A July report from Cox Automotive found that most fleets expect to own an EV in the next five years.

Amazon, one of Rivian’s biggest shareholders, has a contract to take 100,000 vans from the EV maker by 2030. Rivian said it has delivered more than 20,000 vehicles to date to Amazon, a fraction of the online retailer’s package delivery fleet.

A shortage of a critical part idled production at Rivian’s sole assembly plant in Illinois for several weeks last year, prompting the company to slash its full-year production forecast.