Lincoln, Ford’s luxury brand, has canceled an electric vehicle it planned to develop with a startup EV automaker Rivian due to coronavirus pandemic.
Lincoln had planned to release a new electric vehicle model riding on Rivian’s skateboard platform as part of Ford Motor Company’s original investment in Rivian, but now says it will eventually develop its own EV.
“Given the current environment, Lincoln and Rivian have decided not to pursue the development of a fully electric vehicle based on Rivian’s skateboard platform. Ford Motor Company’s strategic commitment to Lincoln, Rivian and electrification remains unchanged and Lincoln’s future plans will include an all-electric vehicle consistent with its Quiet Flight DNA,” Lincoln said in a statement.
Lincoln and Ford will continue to collaborate on other projects, but this specific project was halted due to problems exacerbated by the coronavirus pandemic.
Rivian’s formal market debut is going to be far rougher than expected, and that’s assuming there aren’t any other surprises. Rivian recently announced it will delay the release of its first two vehicles, the R1T pickup truck and the R1S SUV from late this year to early 2021, also citing the pandemic.
Ford made its $500 million investment in the Michigan-based startup in 2019, shortly after Amazon announced it was putting $700 million into Rivian. Ford also participated in a $1.3 billion fund-raising round for Rivian that was completed in December 2019.
