Ford and Rivian cancel the plan to develop an electric car together – TechCrunch

Ford and Rivian have abandoned a plan they had to develop an electric car together. In an interview with , Ford’s CEO Jim Farley said the automaker will do it alone as it aims to per year by the end of 2023.

When the company in Rivian in 2019, the two said that they would work together to produce a Ford-branded EV with the start-up “skateboard” driveline. Early in 2020, the two, citing the pandemic,. At the time, they said they still planned to move on to an “alternative vehicle”[ads1]; based on Rivian’s technology. Now that project will not go ahead either.

“Right now we have growing confidence in our ability to win in the electric field,” said Farley. Car news. “When you compare today with when we originally made that investment, so much has changed: about our ability, about the brand’s direction in both cases, and now it’s safer for us what we need to do.”

According to Farley, part of the reason Ford and Rivian decided not to go ahead with the project is the complexity of combining their hardware and software. The companies say that the decision has not affected their relationship.

“As Ford has scaled its own EV strategy and demand for Rivian vehicles has grown, we have mutually decided to focus on our own projects and deliveries,” a Rivian spokesman told Engadget. “Our relationship with Ford is an important part of our journey, and Ford remains an investor and ally on our common path to an electrified future.”

Editor’s note: This post originally appeared on Engadget.