Ford is making a bigger commitment to electric vehicles.  The blue oval company is investing $500 million in Rivian.  They’ll develop an all-new, next-generation battery electric vehicle for Ford.  It will be based on Rivian’s skateboard platform.

This partnership seems to fit in with Ford’s strategy of moving away from cars and toward more utilities.  Rivian plans to launch their own five-passenger pick-up called the R1T, and a seven-passenger SUV bearing the name R1S.  The company says these EVs will combine performance, off-road capability and utility with up to 400-plus miles of range.  They expect production versions to arrive in late 2020.

The new Rivian based Ford EV is just part of Ford’s plans.  The company has already announced an $11 billion investment to develop a portfolio of battery electric vehicles.  We do know two of Ford’s fully electric vehicles will be a Mustang-inspired crossover due in 2020, and a zero-emissions version of the F-150.