EV World is on full-scale development and for all the good reasons, however, there are setbacks now and then and the most recent one comes in the form of a deal going sour between two partners. If reports are to be beloved then Rivian and Amazon are all set to end their exclusive EV Van agreement clause.
As per reports from some of the top news sources, it is being reported that in 2019 Amazon signed up to purchase 100k vans from Rivian but this year they went ahead and purchased a measly 10,000 only which has now forced both parties to go into renegotiation.
In 2021 it was reported that Amazon had exclusive rights to sell Rivian EVs for at least four years after they started with deliveries just last year.
Rivian had the right to cut this deal short provided Amazon didn’t meet its target of purchasing at least 10,000 vehicles in the first two years since Rivian started production. And now that exactly is what looks to happen as Rivian and Amazon are all set to end their exclusive EV Van agreement clause based on a similar situation.
Last November Amazon claimed to have used over a thousand vans themselves to deliver packages in no less than 100 cities and that these vans had helped them deliver more than 5 million packages by that point.
Even after such an initiative, things look like dying down soon, however, for now, the statements from both companies don’t hint at the end just yet as they have put the focus on their continued partnership.
Rivian sees Amazon as a customer and investor as they hold a 17% stake in the former and for this reason, both parties have made a rather friendly statement.
A spokesperson from Rivian said, “Our relationship with Amazon has always been a positive one—we continue to work closely together, and are navigating a changing economic climate, similar to many companies. Another when shared over email, The relationship we have with Amazon is a very positive one.”
Amazon maintained a similar stance on the subject as their spokesperson said, “While nothing has changed with our agreement with Rivian, we’ve always said that we want others to benefit from their technology in the long run because having more electric delivery vehicles on the road is good for our communities and our planet.”
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Since Amazon is itself an investor in Rivian and wants to see them succeed for obvious reasons they are open to renegotiating the deal which would see their orders being cut down.
This comes on the back of Amazon firing 18,000 workers while also halting the construction of its second headquarters in Arlington, Virginia. Not to forget that they also reported a net loss for the first time since 2014 in the last quarter.
Amazon and Rivian cutting the exclusivity clause may mean the latter is free to sell its vehicle to other companies. As such Rivian looked to have plans to build EVs with Mercedes Benz, a move which has now taken a back seat as the uncertain-looking economy has forced Rivian to lay off hundreds of staff members within the last year.
Source: WSJ