What happened
Shares of Rivian Automotive (RIVN -3.07%) were rising today after Amazon, which owns about an 18% stake in the electric vehicle (EV) maker, said that it has begun using Rivian vans for some package deliveries. The e-commerce giant also said that it will use 100,000 Rivian electric vans across the U.S. by 2030.
Rivian investors latched onto Amazon's comments today and sent the EV stock up by as much as 6% this morning. Its shares had gained 2.5% as of 11:30 a.m. ET.
So what
Amazon said in a press release today that it has started to roll out EV delivery vans made by Rivian in more than a dozen cities and that they'll be in 100 cities by the end of this year.
The vehicles are part of Amazon's pledge to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2040, and the company said that it plans to ramp up the number of Rivian vans before the end of the decade.
Image source: Amazon.
"Today marks a significant milestone in our Climate Pledge commitment. Rivian was one of the first companies Amazon invested in through the Climate Pledge Fund, and we're just getting started on our journey to have 100,000 of Rivian's vehicles on the road by 2030," Amazon CEO Andy Jassy said in a press release.
Now what
While it's been common knowledge that Amazon was testing Rivian vans for deliveries and had already ordered 100,000 vans from the EV maker, investors were likely happy to see that this goal is moving closer to being achieved.
Rivian, like other EV makers, has faced supply chain headwinds and rising costs lately, which has slowed the company's vehicle production capabilities. But this news today is a reminder to investors that the company has the backing of Amazon and that it's slowly making progress toward its production goals.
