Amazon.com owns a 20% stake in electric-vehicle maker Rivian, the startup with which it has placed an order for 100,000 battery-powered delivery vans, the e-commerce giant disclosed Friday in a securities filing.<\/p>\n
As of Sept. 30, Amazon held equity investments \u201cincluding preferred stock of Rivian Automotive, Inc. representing an approximately 20% ownership interest,\u201d which will be valued on the balance sheet at $3.8 billion \u2014 up from $2.7 billion at the end of 2020, Amazon said in the filing.<\/p>\n
Amazon shares pared losses of more than 5% after the disclosure of its investment in Rivian to trade down 2.8% to $3,347.27 as of at 12:41 p.m. in New York. The stock has gained just 2.8% in 2021, trailing the S&P 500 Index significantly.<\/p>\n
Rivian is seen as a genuine contender in the EV market and potential rival to incumbent Tesla<\/a>. The startup\u2019s raised more than $10.5 billion from investors to date and is seeking a valuation of $80 billion in an IPO later this year, Bloomberg reported in August.\u00a0<\/p>\n Rivian said in a filing last week that it could post a quarterly loss of as much as $1.28 billion as it ramps up production on its debut EV, a battery-electric pickup called R1T. The Irvine, California-based company had disclosed in a separate filing earlier this year that Amazon had invested more than $1.3 billion in the automaker and held almost 150 million shares of preferred stock.<\/p>\n Amazon\u2019s voting power as a percentage was redacted. A representative for Rivian declined to comment.<\/p>\n Peter Krawiec, a senior vice president of worldwide corporate and business development at Amazon, is on Rivian\u2019s board. The Seattle-based company\u2019s order for electric delivery vans extends through the end of the decade, with the first 10,000 units due before the end of next year. The order is a cornerstone of Amazon\u2019s ambitious plan to curb its rising greenhouse gas emissions<\/a>.<\/p>\n Limited production of Rivian\u2019s debut pickup started in August and customer deliveries began last month. The startup has encountered numerous delays it has blamed on Covid-induced supply-chain challenges. Rivian has pushed back production of its second consumer model, a sports-utility vehicle called the R1S.\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s also prioritizing manpower and resources for production of Amazon\u2019s van over its retail consumer-focused models, Bloomberg reported last month.<\/p>\nTies That Bind<\/strong><\/h3>\n