Published: March 13, 2023 at 11:46 a.m. ET
Rivian Automotive Inc.’s stock fell more than 3% Monday after news that the electric car maker and Amazon.com Inc. are discussing possible changes to their electric van agreement.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the companies are in talks to end the exclusivity portion of their electric van deal. The talks started after Amazon’s orders for the year were at the low end of the previous range, the report said.
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Rivian Automotive Inc.’s stock fell more than 3% Monday after news that the electric car maker and Amazon.com Inc. are discussing possible changes to their electric van agreement.
Citing people familiar with the matter, the Wall Street Journal reported Monday that the companies are in talks to end the exclusivity portion of their electric van deal. The talks started after Amazon’s orders for the year were at the low end of the previous range, the report said.
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spokesman said the two companies are in discussions. “We continue to work closely together and navigate a changing economic climate, as do many businesses,” she said. “The relationship we have with Amazon is very positive.”
Rivian and Amazon
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struck a deal in 2019 to sell all of the electric carmaker’s last-mile vans to Amazon, which was building its own last-mile delivery systems in an effort to rely less on logistics companies like FedEx Corp.
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and United Parcel Service Inc.
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.
Amazon invested $700 million in Rivian as one of the electric car maker’s big early backers. It is Rivian’s largest shareholder, according to FactSet, with a 17% stake currently worth more than $2 billion.
Rivian has been under pressure to ramp up production and cut costs, and last month the company disappointed Wall Street by missing revenue expectations for its fourth quarter and revealing struggles with parts shortages and other production problems.
Rivian shares have lost 63% in the past 12 months, compared with a loss of about 7% for the S&P 500
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.