Rivian (RIVN) clashes with Bosch in new legal battle over EV motors
EV maker Rivian (RIVN) is locked in a new legal battle with the world’s largest auto parts supplier, Bosch. Both sides traded lawsuits against each other as Rivian moves in its own direction.
In 2019, Rivian and Bosch signed an agreement to supply e-motors for its electric models, the R1T and R1S.
According to Crain’s Detroit Business, the two traded lawsuits after the relationship soured. With Rivian now producing its own e-motors, Bosch claims the EV maker was “secretly” planning to replace its product.
Rivian shot back, saying it was “choked off” by Bosch with insufficient supply, causing production issues and “cataclysmic” damage to the brand and its finances.
According to case files in Wayne County Circuit Court, the legal battle started in July after Bosch sued Rivian over breach of contract. On the same day, Rivian filed a lawsuit against the supplier, claiming breach of contract and damage to the brand’s value.
Bosch claimed the EV maker refused to pay reimbursements worth $204 million after Rivian began building its own e-motors.
Rivian blamed Bosch for its production woes that hampered output and led to only 24,337 vehicles being built in 2022.
Rivian and Bosch trade lawsuits as legal battle heats up
Bosch invested millions to revamp its plant in Germany as it geared up for e-motor production. It also established a new dedicated production line at its South Carolina plant (which I was invited to tour) to build electric motors for Rivian.
“Given these significant investments and that Rivian was an electric vehicle startup that had never manufactured vehicles before, Rivian contracted to reimburse Bosch for all its unamortized costs should Rivian cancel the program early,” Bosch’s lawsuit read (via Crain’s Detroit Business).
Rivian canceled the contract in September 2023, according to Bosch, as it developed its own e-motors. Meanwhile, the company was preparing to fulfill its 200,000-unit supply agreement for 2024.
After Rivian introduced its in-house Enduro drive units, Bosch claimed the EV maker was “secretly” planning to replace its business despite months of silence on its future plans.
“While Rivian’s choice to cut costs and develop a new product may be understandable, Rivian cannot simply ignore its contractual duties to reimburse Bosch…” the lawsuit read. Bosch also said Rivian “refused” assistance and treated it as “a competitor for e-motors and e-axles.”
Rivian fires back
“At the very heart of Rivian’s vehicle design were four electric motors,” Rivian’s lawsuit said. “To supply these mission-critical, custom motors, Rivian turned to the largest and most established supplier of automotive parts in the world: Bosch.”
Rivian’s lawsuit added, “That was a mistake,” as the supplier sent over “unqualified personnel” and invested “insufficient resources” in its program.
As a result, Bosch failed to live up to its commitment, supplying just 101,000 EV motors in 2022, less than half of the requirement.
The lawsuit claimed Bosch “choked off” Rivian’s production lines during one of its most crucial moments, damaging the brand and its finances.
“Bosch made a calculated gamble to overpromise to multiple start-up electric vehicle companies on the theory that at least some of them would soon fail,” the lawsuit read.
Although Bosch claims it tried to help Rivian, the EV maker told a different story. Rivian engineers said one of the lines was “in shambles” during a visit to Germany and claimed Bosch was not using “industry standard technology.”
“Instead, Bosch had apparently employed teenage interns to stand by the line holding flashlights for quality control,” Rivian’s lawsuit stated.
The lawsuit cited a letter from Patrick Hermann, Rivian’s former director of procurement, sent to Bosch, saying its failure to deliver e-motors was “the #1 threat to our organization’s success.”
Rivian said it shifted to in-house e-motor production “To keep costs down and to place Rivian more in control of its own supply chain.” The lawsuit added that doing so would help prevent “supplier issues from constraining Rivian’s production in the future.”
Meanwhile, the EV maker cut its production target for 2024 due to a supply shortage. Rivian expects to build between 47,000 and 49,000 vehicles this year, down from its previous target of 57,000.
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A former coal mine in western Maryland is now generating solar power – and it’s the largest solar farm in the state. Competitive Power Ventures (CPV) has brought Maryland’s largest solar project online in Garrett County, turning reclaimed coal mine land into a source of clean electricity.
CPV Renewable Power, an affiliate of CPV, and investment partner Harrison Street Asset Management have started commercial operations at CPV Backbone Solar, a 160-megawatt solar project in western Maryland. The site sits on a reclaimed, decommissioned coal mine, turning previously disturbed land into a new source of clean power.
Construction of the project was handled by Vanguard Energy Partners, a solar engineering, procurement, and construction firm.
The project comprises approximately 324,000 solar panels and is expected to generate enough electricity to power around 30,000 homes. For Maryland, it adds new in‑state generation while giving former fossil fuel land a second life.
CPV says that the project aims to demonstrate the role of brownfield redevelopment in the energy transition. The company’s CEO, Sherman Knight, said Backbone Solar shows “how brownfield redevelopment, innovative engineering, and strategic partnerships can meet complex project challenges and deliver new power generation in Maryland.”
Local officials have welcomed the project. Garrett County Board Chairman Paul Edwards said bringing the solar facility to the county helps protect the region’s natural landscape while also creating economic value for local residents.
CPV Backbone Solar also includes a community and environmental investment tied to the project. CPV has committed $100,000 over four years to the Deep Creek Watershed Foundation.
Backbone Solar becomes part of CPV’s growing renewable portfolio, which includes four operating wind and solar projects. The company also says it has a 4.8-gigawatt renewable development pipeline.
A second phase of the Backbone Solar project is already under construction. Once completed, it’s expected to increase the site’s total installed capacity from 160 MW to 175 MW.
Read more: Fast charge your EV while grabbing Royal Farms fried chicken
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Pennsylvania just opened its first federally funded EV charging station on the Pennsylvania Turnpike — a key step toward making long-distance EV travel easier across the state.
The new station just opened at the Blue Mountain Service Plaza at Exit 202 westbound. Another NEVI-funded site at the New Stanton Service Plaza (Exit 77 westbound) is expected to open next week, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Transportation (PennDOT).
The chargers were built using funds from the federal National Electric Vehicle Infrastructure (NEVI) program, which is designed to install fast, reliable charging stations where drivers already stop — especially along busy highway corridors.
The Pennsylvania Turnpike is one of the state’s most heavily traveled roads, particularly during holiday travel, making service plazas a natural location for en-route EV charging. This first Turnpike site marks the beginning of NEVI-funded charging directly on the state’s toll road.
The Blue Mountain and New Stanton locations are part of the Turnpike’s larger, systemwide EV charging rollout. Working with Applegreen Electric, the Turnpike plans to install 80 new universal EV charging stations across all 17 service plazas by the end of 2027.
In addition to the NEVI-funded sites, the Turnpike has already brought new chargers online at the North Somerset, South Somerset, and Hickory Run service plazas using funding from Pennsylvania’s Driving PA Forward program. Each location offers high-speed charging with four ports per site, and all chargers are designed to work with all EV models without the need for adapters.
The project was awarded under the first round of PennDOT’s NEVI Alternative Fuel Corridor program. The next phase of funding, known as Corridor Connections, is focused on filling in charging gaps along major roadways that fall outside previously designated alternative fuel corridors. The goal is to make longer EV trips across Pennsylvania easier and more predictable.
The announcement also comes as Pennsylvania continues to push back against federal attempts to block EV funding. The US Department of Transportation is currently withholding congressionally approved money that would have supported EV infrastructure projects and jobs in the state. Governor Josh Shapiro (D-PA) sued the Trump administration over the move and, alongside 15 other states, successfully challenged an earlier attempt to derail the NEVI program. That legal fight helped keep projects like these Turnpike charging stations moving forward across the Commonwealth.
Electrek’s Take
This is precisely what the Biden administration’s NEVI program was meant to do: put fast, reliable charging stations where drivers already stop. Service plazas on major turnpikes are prime real estate for EV charging, particularly during holiday and long-distance travel. Pennsylvania’s rollout is still early days, but once chargers are live at all 17 plazas – assuming the federal funding spigot stays open – one of the Northeast’s busiest corridors is going to be a great place to road-trip in an EV.
Read more: PA Turnpike to add 80 new Applegreen DC fast chargers by 2027
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