Rivian has managed to find itself on pretty much everyone’s lips as 2020 enters its second month. Last year the company developing electric vehicles received massive investments from Ford and Amazon, and just recently we learned that the first Lincoln EV would be based on Rivian’s platform.
The company’s other big partner, Amazon, placed an order with Rivian for 100,000 units of the commercial vans last year, for full delivery by 2030. The first of those should be hitting the road in North America starting in 2021.
This week, the two companies published a video showing more of what the van will look like. We’re still at this point at the clay models and miniatures stage, but it’s clear that things are progressing at Rivian’s HQ in Plymouth, Michigan.
The clip shows that the companies are working in tandem to produce a delivery van perfect for Amazon to handle deliveries to its customers, but also a product that will produce as few polluting emissions as possible. We can even see drivers testing out the delivery van on a virtual-reality simulator to determine the optimal way to equip it.
Technically, we can see that the van’s dashboard will be synchronized with Amazon’s logistics management system. Unsurprisingly, the vehicle will also feature Amazon’s Alexa system with voice commands to make it easier to find packages in the hold.
Rivian says it will produce three van formats for Amazon, with the first deliveries taking place next year. The goal is to have 10,000 vans in service by 2022, and the full 100,000 order fulfilled by 2030.
Aside from its deal with Amazon and the joint project with Lincoln, Rivian must also advance with its R1T pickup, which it intends to introduce by the end of this year. The R1S SUV will follow after that.
