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Rivian Goes Against the EV Tides As the Only Startup To Outsource Its Electric Motors

Carmakers have to carefully balance their insource/outsource strategy to meet the goals in terms of budgeting, flexibility, and scale. When it comes to electric motors, most EV startups opted for developing their electric powertrains in-house, while the traditional carmakers favored outsourcing the most important parts. Rivian is the only startup that goes against the tide, fully outsourcing its electric drive units.
Rivian goes against the EV tides as the only startup to outsource its electric motors 6 photos
Photo: Rivian
Rivian goes against the EV tides as the only startup to outsource its electric motorsRivian goes against the EV tides as the only startup to outsource its electric motorsRivian goes against the EV tides as the only startup to outsource its electric motorsRivian goes against the EV tides as the only startup to outsource its electric motorsRivian goes against the EV tides as the only startup to outsource its electric motors
Many startups correctly identified the electric drive units as the most important asset that can make or break an electric vehicle. This explains why most of them started to develop their electric motors in-house, although this endeavor is costly and takes a lot of time. We’ve seen this strategy paying off as Tesla and Lucid have the most efficient EVs out there, although Lucid is still struggling to produce them at scale.

On the other hand, traditional carmakers skipped the development and resorted to off-the-shelf parts from third-party suppliers. This allows for more flexibility and shortens the development time, but comes with its downsides. Third-party suppliers are less focused on electric motors development, and they might have hard times meeting high-volume demands from their many clients. This is obvious by how hard it is for traditional carmakers to ramp up EV production.

Information service provider IHS Markit analyzed several automakers’ electric motor sourcing strategies and their study confirmed the trends described above. There are variations, nevertheless, with Rivian being the notable exception as the only EV startup to outsource its electric motors. But even Rivian started to develop its own electric motors, and the analysis shows this is a growing trend in the industry.

According to IHS Markit, there will be a steady shift toward electric drive insourcing in the coming decade, driven in part by the U.S. traditional carmakers. Ford and GM are among the carmakers to outsource most of their electric drive units at the moment. It makes sense to move towards insourcing in the future.
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About the author: Cristian Agatie
Cristian Agatie profile photo

After his childhood dream of becoming a "tractor operator" didn't pan out, Cristian turned to journalism, first in print and later moving to online media. His top interests are electric vehicles and new energy solutions.
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