When Ford and Rivian announced their strategic partnership earlier this year, the two companies revealed plans to build a new electric vehicle based on Rivian’s skateboard platform.
The companies have been tight-lipped about the resulting vehicle, but Ford CEO Jim Hackett has provided some new clues in an interview with Motor Trend.
Speaking with the publication, Hackett said “You shouldn’t go down the path of assuming it’s a pickup.” As a result, the model likely won’t follow in the footsteps of the Rivian R1T which is slated to go into production late next year.
That makes sense as Ford is already working on an electric F-150. Little is known about the truck, but the R1T will have four electric motors that produce up to 754 hp (562 kW / 764 PS) and 826 lb-ft (1,120 Nm) of torque.
Also Read: Ford Teams Up With Rivian For New Battery Electric Model
Since Ford has effectively abandoned hatchbacks and sedans in North America, it likely means the Rivian-based model will be a crossover. That’s not official at this point, but Hackett said a lot of details have “been settled” and they’re “pretty close” to tying up the loose ends.
While we should hear more about the model in the future, Hackett said the partnership with Rivian is already bearing fruit as they’re “teaching us about merging not only the powertrain, but the architecture that the ECUs and other things connect to.” He also described the company as a “really special thing.”
Of course, Ford isn’t just working with Rivian as they’ve also inked a deal for Volkswagen’s MEB platform which will underpin an assortment of electric vehicles including the ID3. However, it doesn’t appear that all of Ford’s MEB models will make it stateside as Hackett said small cars based on the architecture aren’t for North America.
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