German high-end car maker Mercedes-Benz and US start-up Rivian announced Thursday plans to produce electric vans together in Europe.
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, for production ‘starting in a few years’, a statement said.
The idea would be to build a factory entirely dedicated to electric vehicles on an already existing Mercedes-Benz site in Central or Eastern Europe.
“Working together, (the two groups) will be able to leverage operational synergies and significantly increase profitability to help make vans more affordable for total cost-driven commercial customers,” the statement said.
Mercedes-Benz, born from the split of Daimler into Mercedes-Benz on one side and Daimler Truck on the other, has been producing electric vans since 2010 and currently offers four models.
In April, the group set itself the objective of reducing its CO2 emissions per car by 50% by 2030 compared to 2020, focusing on electrification and less polluting production.
Rivian is a much more recent arrival on the automotive market, having started production just a year ago.
But the start-up made headlines by winning a contract with Amazon for 100,000 electric vans by 2030 and making a thunderous IPO at the end of 2021.
The company, which also manufactures pick-ups and SUVs, has since struggled to gain momentum, in particular for lack of sufficient parts and components. Its stock has fallen sharply since joining Wall Street and it had to cut positions in July.
Mercedes-Benz shares were down regarding 2% at the end of trading on the Frankfurt Stock Exchange on Thursday, while Rivian shares rose more than 6% midway through Wall Street.
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