Rivian wants to offer its electric delivery vans to others in the future and is therefore negotiating with Amazon to lift the exclusivity clause that is part of the companies’ deal. This comes as Amazon’s orders are allegedly below expectations.
The exclusivity clause dates back to 2019, when Amazon agreed with Rivian to purchase 100,000 electric vans by 2030. Amazon has been using the first examples of the electric van since last year.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Amazon placed a firm order with Rivian for only around 10,000 electric transporters in 2023, falling short of the EV maker’s expectations. According to Rivian’s internal sources cited by WSJ, this is not the first time Amazon has stayed at the low end of the agreed range for its firm orders.
Resentment against its own investor is rising at Rivian, as it calculated with more orders to justify manufacturing the electric delivery van on its own production line. That is why there are now talks about dissolving the existing exclusivity agreement. Without it, Rivian would be free to sell the vehicles to other customers.
Where Amazon stands on removing the exclusivity clause is not clear. The online retailer is interested in obtaining electric delivery vehicles to meet its sustainability goals. The question remains: what happens – also in terms of prices – if Amazon starts buying EVs from other manufacturers?
Rivian is under pressure to meet expectations placed on the company and continues to ramp up production. Last year, Rivian delivered 20,332 electric vehicles, but due to investment costs in scaling up production, its losses increased to $6.75 billion.
wsj.com (paywall), t3n.de
Keyword: Rivian wants to end its exclusive deal with Amazon