Mercedes, Rivian ink joint venture to make electric vans

Mercedes-Benz Group AG
RIVN,
+8.45%
MBG,
-2.57%
DAII,
+3.17%
and Rivian Automotive Inc.
RIVN,
+8.45%
said Thursday they agreed to form a joint venture to manufacture electric vans in a new electric-only production facility to be built near an existing Mercedes‑Benz site in Europe. The two car companies plan to produce one model based on MB Vans electric architecture from Mercedes and a second model based on the second generation electric-van, Rivian light van (RLV) platform. Financial terms were not disclosed. Rivian shares rose 6.5% in premarket trades. The stock is down about 68% in 2022 compared to a 24.6% drop by the Nasdaq.