Ford Motor Company has made a $500-million minority equity investment in electric vehicle maker Rivian ( earlier post ). In addition to the investment, the companies have agreed to work together to develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford’s growing EV portfolio using Rivian’s skateboard platform. Rivian Skateboard Platform The Rivian electric drive features four independent motors with 200 horsepower available at each wheel. The battery pack can be configured to up to 180 kWh. In February, Rivian announced an equity investment round of $700M led by Amazon. The investment comes on the heels of Rivian’s reveal of the all-electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV at the LA Auto Show last November. ( Earlier post .) R1S Rivian already has developed two clean-sheet vehicles with adventurers at the core of every design and engineering decision. The company’s launch products—the five-passenger R1T pickup and seven-passenger R1S SUV—will deliver […]