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The once-promising strategic partnership between Ford and Rivian is “nearly complete” after a new SEC filing shows Ford trimmed its stake to just 10.5 million shares in 2022.

Ford trims Rivian stake to a mere 1.15% ownership

The partnership began in 2019 after Ford invested $500 million in Rivian, marking a key milestone in the company’s shared vision of accelerating sustainable mobility.

In addition to the investment, Ford said it would use Rivian’s electric platform to develop its own Ford or Lincoln-branded EV alongside its planned F-150 electric pickup (now known as the F-150 Lightning) and Mustang-inspired electric crossover (the Mustang Mach-E).

Initial plans included for Ford to take over some production capacity at Rivian’s Illinois factory, but Ford announced in April 2020 it would be moving away from using Rivian’s platform, as a message to employees stated:

As we moved through the development cycle, we determined that it would be better to pivot from the Rivian skateboard platform and focus our development efforts.

Despite a spokesperson claiming Ford and Rivian will continue to be great partners, the two agreed it would be better to focus on their own projects.

In April 2022, Ford reported a $5.4 billion write-down on its investment after Rivian’s stock collapsed over 70% from its highs. Ford’s SEC filing in May 2022 showed Ford owned 86.9 million shares after selling seven million for $26.88 per share.

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Ford F-150 Lightning Lariat off-road (source: Ford)

After releasing fourth quarter and full year 2022 earnings earlier this month, Ford’s CFO told investors and analysts the company was providing its first quarter regular dividend of $0.15 per share alongside a supplemental one of $0.665 per share, “reflecting our strong free cash flow and the monetization of our Rivian stake, which is now nearly complete.”

Ford’s latest SEC filing on Wednesday indicated the automaker reduced its stake further to just 10.5 million shares or 1.15% of Rivian’s stock. Last week, Ford reported another write-down in its investment of $7.3 billion.

Rivian’s stock is down 70% over the past year, and the EV maker has struggled to turn a profit as it looks to achieve full-scale production.

Meanwhile, Ford’s CEO Jim Farley says the company’s next-generation EV pickup and electric platform are “deep in development.”

Electrek’s Take

It looks like the strategic partnership between Ford and Rivian has fallen through. Although it would have been fascinating to see what the young EV startup and legacy automaker could have developed, it’s likely best they go in separate directions.

To make an electric vehicle (and make it profitably), developing in-house technology will be critical to streamlining production. Farley has recently said Ford is “going back to our Model A” in reference to bringing component manufacturing back.

We’ll update you if we hear more about the situation.

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BMW hits pause on EV production in the US, but don’t expect prices to rise yet

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BMW hits pause on EV production in the US, but don't expect prices to rise yet

BMW told dealers it plans to freeze EV production in the US in May as it deals with the uncertainty surrounding the new auto tariffs. Despite the pause, BMW said it won’t raise prices on most imported vehicles. At least, for now.

Why is BMW pausing EV production in the US?

After celebrating the assembly of its seven millionth vehicle in the US this week, BMW, like most major automakers, is bracing for a shakeup under the Trump Administration.

According to Automotive News, BMW told its dealers on April 29 that it will “postpone” EV production in the US in May. The note didn’t specify a reason, but it’s more than likely due to Trump’s 25% tariff on vehicle imports.

The luxury automaker has had more success than most of its peers with four electric vehicles: the i4, i5, i7, and iX. However, all four are built in Germany.

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In the first three months of 2025, BMW sold 13,538 EVs, up 26% from Q1 2024. The i4 was BMW’s top seller with sales surging 57% to 7,125, followed by the iX at 3,626. In comparison, Mercedes-Benz sold just 3,472 electric vehicles in the US in the first quarter, down 58% year-over-year (YOY).

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2025 BMW i4 M50 xDrive (Source: BMW)

Sebastian Mackensen, President & CEO of BMW of North America, said the company “remains in a strong position in the US, where the majority of the vehicles we sell in this market are also assembled.”

BMW also told dealers in the memo that it will not raise prices on most imported vehicles through June. The only exception is the 2 Series and M2 performance coupe.

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2026 BMW iX xDrive60 (Source: BMW)

The news comes after most major automakers, including GM, Volvo, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, and Stellantis, withdrew their financial guidance this week due to the uncertainty caused by Trump’s tariffs.

Earlier today, Ford CEO Jim Farley told CNN, “We’re all trying to figure this out to do the right thing for the country,” adding, “It’s going to take a little time.” In the meantime, expect to see more drastic measures being taken.

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Ford is still offering big discounts including employee pricing and free EV chargers

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Ford is still offering big discounts including employee pricing and free EV chargers

After extending several promotions this week, Ford is offering significant discounts that could save you thousands. In addition to employee pricing on most Ford and Lincoln vehicles, the company is offering a free home charger with the purchase of an EV. Here’s how you can snag some discounts.

Ford launched its “From America, For America” campaign earlier this month, offering employee prices for all on most 2024 and 2025 models.

The promo was initially expected to end on June 2, but CEO Jim Farley told CNN in an interview on Wednesday that the company is extending it through July 4. Although the campaign now runs another month, Farley said he can’t promise prices won’t go up when the offer expires.

As for how much of a discount, it will depend on the vehicle’s cost. Under the employee pricing plan, the 2025 Mustang Mach-E, with an MSRP of $36,495, costs just $34,599. The 2025 F-150 Lightning, with an MSRP of $62,995, is nearly $5,000 off, at just $58,183.

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“We want to keep our prices competitive and low,” Farley explained. Like most automakers, Ford is bracing for the impact of the new auto tariffs in the US.

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2025 Ford Mustang Mach-E (Source: Ford)

Outside of Tesla, Ford builds a greater percentage of vehicles in the US than any other major automaker. According to Farley, “This is an opportunity for Ford.” He explained that Ford has “a different footprint, a different exposure for tariffs.”

Ford imports around 21% of the vehicles it sells in the US. Crosstown rival GM imports around 46%. According to S&P Global Mobility, Ford made around 2 million cars in the US last year. It also built around 391,000 in Mexico and 54,000 in Canada.

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Ford Mustang Mach-E (left) and F-150 Lightning (right) (Source: Ford)

For EV buyers, Ford is also extending its Power Promise program, which offers a free Level 2 home charger (plus standard installation) with the purchase of an F-150 Lightning or Mustang Mach-E.

Other benefits include 24/7 live electric vehicle support, roadside assistance, and an 8-year, 100,000-mile battery warranty. The promo now runs through July 6.

Ready to take advantage of the savings? We can help you get started. You can use our links below to find deals on the Ford F-150 Lightning and Mustang Mach-E at a dealer near you.

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Waymo and Toyota partner to go after Tesla with personal self-driving vehicles

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Waymo and Toyota partner to go after Tesla with personal self-driving vehicles

Waymo and Toyota have announced a partnership aimed at competing with Tesla in the development of personally owned self-driving vehicles.

Waymo is already widely regarded as the market leader in autonomous driving, as it currently provides approximately 250,000 autonomous paid rides per week in the few markets where it operates.

Tesla is playing catch-up as it plans to offer the same service Waymo offers, starting in Austin in June, with 10 to 20 vehicles.

However, there’s an area of autonomous driving where Tesla is still seen as the market leader: personally owned self-driving vehicles.

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While Tesla has yet to deliver on its promise of unsupervised self-driving capability in its consumer vehicles, it uses the same technology in those as it plans to do in its internal fleet in Austin, albeit with more Austin-specific training and some teleoperation assists.

Some see this as an opportunity for Tesla to take the lead in personally owned autonomous vehicles if it can solve self-driving on its current hardware, which is a big if.

It already has smoothly integrated sensors that don’t clash with the designs of its vehicles, which is something that car buyers care about, but it’s not a big deal for an autonomous ride-hailing fleet, which is what Waymo has focused on so far.

Now, Waymo and Toyota have announced that they are exploring collaboration on autonomous vehicles :

Toyota Motor Corporation (“Toyota”) and Waymo reached a preliminary agreement to explore a collaboration focused on accelerating the development and deployment of autonomous driving technologies. Woven by Toyota will also join the potential collaboration as Toyota’s strategic enabler, contributing its strengths in advanced software and mobility innovation. This potential partnership is built on a shared vision of improving road safety and delivering increased mobility for all.

More specifically, the collaboration will focus on “next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs)”:

Toyota and Waymo aim to combine their respective strengths to develop a new autonomous vehicle platform. In parallel, the companies will explore how to leverage Waymo’s autonomous technology and Toyota’s vehicle expertise to enhance next-generation personally owned vehicles (POVs). The scope of the collaboration will continue to evolve through ongoing discussions.

This would point to Waymo integrating its technology into Toyota’s vehicles for consumers.

While it’s still early, Waymo appears to be doing something Elon Musk, Tesla’s CEO, claimed Tesla would be doing soon: announcing deals to integrate its ‘Full Self-Driving’ technology in vehicles built by other automakers.

For more than a year, Musk has said that Tesla has been in discussions with other automakers about licensing its self-driving technology, which is still in development; however, no progress has been disclosed about those discussions yet.

Waymo also announced a similar partnership with Hyundai last year, though this one is expected to first focus on Waymo using Hyundai vehicles for its own autonomous ride-hailing fleet.

Electrek’s Take

This is a big deal. The world’s leader in autonomous vehicles is partnering with the world’s largest automaker.

It’s still early in the collaboration, as per the press release, but it does sound like Waymo is going to develop a hardware suite that can be fitted into Toyota’s consumer vehicles.

This would go after Musk’s argument that Waymo can’t compete with Tesla due to the high cost of its autonomous vehicles.

Waymo’s counterargument is that it hasn’t focused on cost because safety is the priority, and the cost of the vehicles doesn’t matter as much if they are to be used in an internal ride-hailing fleet.

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