Ford has now confirmed what we previously surmised: The high-end electric SUV it has developed with Rivian will be badged and sold as a Lincoln.
Neither Ford nor Rivian are saying when production will begin, and we don’t yet know the name of—or when we will get our first look at—the latest Lincoln. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe has said the Lincoln is “an impressive product, to say the least.”
As mentioned, MotorTrend previously deduced the partnership was likely to produce a Lincoln. Ford initially invested $500 million in Rivian—it has since invested more—and subsequently contracted with the fellow Michigan-based company to use its EV skateboard chassis in an SUV. Under the agreement, Rivian’s chassis provides a full electric powertrain with battery pack, electric motors, suspension, axles, and other key components. Ford will design the vehicle’s entire “top hat”—or body and cabin—but must ensure the electronic control unit, infotainment systems, and other electronics can play nice with Rivian’s electrical architecture.
Ford CEO Jim Hackett has said he wants a vehicle with a range of 400 miles, but neither Ford nor Rivian are commenting on range. Rivian is developing three different battery packs for its own vehicles.
Rivian will assemble the Lincoln at its plant in Normal, Illinois. The plant will also make the Rivian R1T electric pickup starting in December, followed by the Rivian R1S electric SUV about three months later. Rivian also has a contract to make a fleet of 100,000 large electric commercial delivery vans for Amazon under the Prime banner.
We suspect the Lincoln will have an aluminum body because the Rivian vehicles are aluminum and the plant’s body shop has been set up to handle the material. Ford has invested heavily in aluminum-bodied vehicles, as well.
For Lincoln, this is the first pure electric vehicle for the brand and warrants a new logo: an electric blue Lincoln star. The whir of a motor fits with the company’s theme of “quiet flight” that designers have infused into the current lineup that includes the Navigator, new rear-drive-based Aviator and Aviator plug-in hybrid, the refreshed Nautilus, and the new compact Corsair that itself offers a Grand Touring plug-in hybrid.
Meanwhile, Lincoln will stop making the MKZ sedan at the end of the year at the Hermosillo, Mexico, assembly plant, which will be retooled to make the next-generation Transit Connect small commercial van.
Ford is pursuing three different paths when it comes to electrification. The automaker is investing $11.5 billion to introduce 40 electrified vehicles by 2022, of which 16 will be fully electric and the rest will be hybrids and plug-in hybrids. Additionally, Ford will use its partnership with Volkswagen to expand its European lineup using VW’s MEB electric vehicle platform for smaller vehicles starting in 2023. Meanwhile, Ford is working with Rivian in the U.S. on larger vehicles.
All future Ford utility vehicles will offer some form of electrification, and the automaker has vowed to be the top producer of hybrids by 2021, jumping ahead of Toyota. On the truck side, an F-150 hybrid is due this year, and Ford is also working on an electric F-Series pickup. General Motors has also confirmed electric pickups in the works; they’ll be built at its Detroit-Hamtramck plant, and at least one of them will revive the Hummer name. Tesla has generated a lot of buzz around plans to build its unorthodox stainless-steel Cybertruck pickup. Ford is also preparing to launch the 2021 Mustang Mach-E electric crossover this fall.
The post Official: Rivian to Build Electric Lincoln SUV for Ford appeared first on MotorTrend.
Source: WORLD NEWS
