The German manufacturer of high-end cars Mercedes-Benz and the American start-up Rivian announced this Thursday, September 8, that they want to produce electric vans together in Europe.
A new dedicated plant in project
The two groups have signed an agreement to form a joint venture with the aim of sharing investments, costs and combining some of their operations, so that production “will start in a few years”, it said in a press release.
The idea would be to build a factory entirely dedicated to electric vehicles at an existing Mercedes-Benz site in Central or Eastern Europe.
“By working together, (the two groups) will be able to leverage operating synergies and significantly increase profitability to help make trucks more affordable for total cost-driven business customers,” the statement said.
Mercedes-Benz, born from the Daimler division into Mercedes-Benz on the one hand and Daimler Truck on the other, has been producing electric vans since 2010 and currently offers four models.
In April, the group set a goal of reducing its CO2 emissions per car by 50% by 2030 compared to 2020, with a focus on electrification and cleaner production.
A new potential market for Rivian
Rivian is a much more recent arrival on the auto market, having started production just a year ago.
But the startup made headlines by winning a contract with Amazon for 100,000 electric vans by 2030 and holding a thunderous initial public offering in late 2021.
Since then, the company, which also makes trucks and SUVs, has struggled to gain traction, particularly because of a lack of sufficient parts and components. His shares have fallen sharply since he joined Wall Street and he had to cut positions in July.
Shares of Mercedes-Benz fell about 2% at the end of trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday, while shares of Rivian rose more than 6% at the Wall Street halving.
Source: BFM TV
