Uber, or its vehicle suppliers, are anticipated to acquire 10,000 fully self-driving Rivian R2 driverless cars, with the possibility of buying an additional 40,000 by 2030.
The firms announced on Thursday that the first implementations of the vehicles are anticipated to start in San Francisco and Miami in 2028, with plans to extend to 25 cities across the US, Canada, and Europe by 2031.
“We strongly support Rivian’s method – developing the vehicle, computer system, and software as a unified whole, while keeping full control over large-scale production and supply chains within the US,” said Dara Khosrowshahi, CEO of Uber, in a statement.
Vertical integration, along with data from their expanding consumer vehicle fleet and expertise in handling commercial fleet challenges, provides us with confidence to establish these bold yet attainable goals.
Uber’s funding for Rivian will be distributed over until 2031 and depends on achieving specific autonomous goals by set deadlines.
A preliminary investment of $300 million (€260.5 million) has been pledged after the agreement was signed, pending regulatory clearance.
Rivian, located in Irvine, California, produces a premium R1T pickup truck and the R1S SUV, along with delivery vans for Amazon and other companies. It is set to start manufacturing the more compact R2 this year. The vehicle manufacturer resumed delayed efforts on a $5 billion (€4.3 billion) facility in Georgia last year.
Rivian’s stock increased by over 3% at approximately 4 pm CET, whereas Uber’s shares experienced a minor decline.
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