(Photo: Rivian’s manufacturing facility in Normal, Illinois. Credit: Rivian)[/caption]
All-electric truck manufacturers Rivian and Bollinger Motors are preparing to start production on their vehicles. The companies represent new competition for Tesla, and a potential boon for fleet owners looking to make an electric transition.
Electric truck manufacturers Rivian and Bollinger Motors are preparing to start production on their vehicles. The two companies represent new competition for Tesla — and a potential boon for fleet owners looking to make an electric transition.
Plymouth, Michigan-based Rivian has already secured investments from Amazon, Ford, and Cox Automotive. In February, Amazon led a $700 million equity investment round. The startup plans to launch the R1T pickup and R1S SUV in the United States in late 2020. Rivian has development centers in Michigan, California, and England as well as a 2.6-million-square-foot manufacturing plant in Normal, Illinois.
Pricing begins $69,000 for the pickup and $72,500 for the SUV, not including the federal tax credit, according to Kelly Blue Book.
In addition to the two action-adventure vehicles, Rivian is adding an electric commercial delivery van, as the Verge’s Andrew J. Hawkins pointed out. Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos announced last week that his company placed an order for 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian, USA Today reporter Nathan Bomey tweeted. Bomey added that Bezos expects the vans to be on the road by 2024.
This week the Detroit-based electric truck maker Bollinger Motors debuted its B1 sports utility and B2 pickup vehicles in Ferndale, Michigan, Henry Payne reported in the Detroit News. The vehicles have a boxy design that comes from founder Robert Bollinger’s aesthetic and the advantage that avoiding stamping dies saves development money, Payne explained.
“The trucks have a top speed of 100 miles per hour and can go from 0 to 60 mph in just 4.5 seconds,” the Verge’s Sean O’Kane wrote on Thursday. Pricing hasn’t been announced yet, but the company expects to begin production in the second half of 2020.
“Whoever enters the market first could have a lot of staying power, granted the electric trucks are capable of delivering on its promises,” the Motley Fool’s Donna Fuscaldo predicted.
