Mercedes-Benz and Rivian are placing on maintain a deliberate collaboration to construct electrical vans in Europe that was signed simply three months in the past, the 2 firms mentioned, because the U.S.-based electric-vehicle maker focuses on its home enterprise.
Mercedes-Benz Vans and Rivian in September signed a memorandum of understanding for a three way partnership to provide two massive, full-electric vans in a manufacturing facility in Central or Jap Europe throughout the subsequent few years.
The vans had been to have been constructed on a joint manufacturing line at a Jawor, Poland, with one primarily based on Mercedes’ coming VAN.EA platform and the opposite primarily based on the Rivian Gentle Van electrical platform.
However the mission has been paused indefinitely, the 2 firms mentioned Monday. Mercedes in a information launch cited Rivian’s “ongoing reprioritization of initiatives.”
Rivian mentioned it’ll concentrate on its shopper and current industrial enterprise because it tries to turn into money flow-positive in its U.S. operations.
“At this time limit, we consider specializing in our shopper enterprise, in addition to our current industrial enterprise, signify essentially the most engaging near-term alternatives to maximise worth for Rivian,” Chief Government Officer RJ Scaringe mentioned in Rivian’s assertion.
Rivian’s industrial enterprise contains the automaker’s RCV platform that underpins the Amazon van that Rivian is constructing in Illinois. The corporate has a contract to produce 100,000 electrical supply vans to the e-commerce big, its greatest investor.
The halt to the partnership comes as Mercedes-Benz Vans reorganizes its European manufacturing community, and offers Mercedes one fewer manufacturing accomplice in light-commercial vans, which have traditionally been the product of joint ventures and manufacturing collaborations.
It confirmed Monday that even with out Rivian’s involvement it will construct its first electric-only vans plant in Jawor pending approval of circumstances together with the sign-off of subsidies for its funding within the nation.
The van maker, a division of Mercedes-Benz, has signed a declaration of intent with the Polish authorities and different companions so as to add the van manufacturing facility to its Jawor website, the place it makes combustion engines and batteries for Mercedes-Benz Automobiles.
The plant would be the fourth in Mercedes-Benz´s European van manufacturing community, which it’s reorganising in the direction of producing solely fully-electric vans constructed on the VAN.EA platform.
The VAN.EA platform shall be used for full-electric medium and enormous industrial vans, Mercedes has mentioned. By 2025, all newly launched Mercedes van fashions shall be solely electrical.
Along with Jawor, full-electric vans shall be constructed at Duesseldorf, Germany; Ludwigsfelde, Germany; and Vitoria, Spain.
The Duessdeldorf manufacturing facility already builds the present technology full-electric Sprinter massive panel van; a brand new technology will begin manufacturing there within the second half of subsequent yr, Mercedes mentioned. Open-sided electrical Sprinters shall be constructed at Ludwigsfelde beginning in 2024.
Vitoria will proceed to construct medium full-electric vans, the EQV and (e)Vito, with the fashions transferring to the VAN.EA structure within the mid-2020s.
Small full-electric vans (Citan, T-Class) will proceed to constructed by Renault in its Maubeuge, France, manufacturing facility, on Renault-Nissan Alliance structure.
Europe’s main van makers are providing increasingly more full-electric fashions. Stellantis already presents electrical variations of its total lineup for Citroen, Peugeot and Opel, in addition to most Fiat fashions and vans it builds for Toyota. Renault will quickly provide three full-electric van sizes, and Ford can be changing its vary.
Reuters and Bloomberg contributed to this report