Buying an EV? You can trust Rivian to survive.

If you’re paying $70,000 for a Rivian, can you trust the maker of electric pickups and SUVs to be around in five years?

It’s a reasonable question to ask of any electric vehicle maker after seeing Henrik Fisker spiral into bankruptcy, James Dyson’s (yes, the Dyson vacuum cleaner) decision to quit before building his first electric car, and the evanescent nature of other startups that promised the moon. and delivered a 15 watt night light.

Even Apple’s decade-long flirtation with car manufacturing didn’t amount to a moldy MacIntosh in the end.

Who can you trust?

Not the venture capitalists who have sunk billions into would-be electric vehicles in a flight of post-rational exuberance. As Ana Gasteyer’s clueless but confident CEO said in the underrated sitcom “American Auto,” tech startups are like scratch cards: You never know which one will pay off, so you buy a handful.

More: Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian dazzles observers with 3 new, less expensive SUVs

Car manufacturing is hard and risky

But don’t play with OPM – other people’s money. If the company that made your car fails, it affects everything in your life, not just the line your accountant invests.

Rivian debuted with a bang. It boasted Amazon’s commitment to buy a fleet of electric delivery vans and a $1 billion investment from Ford, which said it would use Rivian technology for some of its first modern electric vehicles. Ford eventually dropped the idea, cashing in on Rivian at a handsome profit.

Founding CEO RJ Scaringe was a poster boy for the emerging electric vehicle industry, acquiring a shuttered assembly plant in Illinois that was founded as a joint venture of Chrysler and Mitsubishi in the 1980s. Mitsubishi took over- o as Chrysler’s fortunes declined. The small Japanese automaker closed the plant in 2019 at the cost of 1,300 jobs in the small central Illinois town of Normal. Rivian’s purchase of the near-ready factory, with access to experienced workers, reminded some viewers of Tesla’s purchase of a Toyota plant in the Bay Area.

More: The Rivian R1S 2025 SUV reduces weight, adds autonomy and features

While other electric vehicle startups have had a DIY feel, other feathers in Rivian’s cap have included an engineering center in suburban Detroit, multiple facilities in California, $13.5 billion raised when the company became releases in 2021 and generally positive reviews of its first two vehicles: the mid-size R1S. pick-up and three-row R1T SUV.

There are no sure things, but Rivian has experience and assets that few of the other rookies can match.

Warning: Any car manufacturer could go out of business. It’s a hyper-competitive industry that consumes cash machines daily.

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That said, big, established car companies are notoriously hard to kill. Companies like General Motors, Ford, Volkswagen, Toyota and Renault are so intertwined with national employment, investment, research and financial markets that no government can afford to fail suddenly.

Economists may call it moral hazard, but it’s realpolitik: some things i am too big to fail

What makes Rivian different?

None of this applies to new EV majors. Even the market leader, Tesla, is barely a problem in the national economy.

However, I’m not too worried about Rivian’s demise like both of Fisker’s failed startups. (Yes, there were two: Fisker Automotive failed a decade ago, before Henrik found a new flock of pigeons to finance Fisker Inc., which is currently collapsing, most notably for its scathing rating by Consumer Reports of his Ocean SUV: “The most incomplete car I’ve driven in my career.”

Why is Rivian different?

1. In fact, Rivian builds and sells electric pickup trucks and SUVs today.

2. It has a plausible plan to develop more.

3. Rivian’s vehicles and technology are competitive.

4. A pair of companies that i am too big not to support Rivian: Amazon and Volkswagen.

VW recently agreed to pay Rivian $5 billion. The German giant has effectively admitted that its years-long, multi-billion-euro electric vehicle program was on the back burner. It needed Rivian’s help to develop electrical systems, software and more.

“Rivian’s chances have gone up a lot with the VW deal,” said Guidehouse Insights analyst Sam Abuelsamid. “It will certainly help over the next couple of years as Rivian ramps up production of new vehicles.”

Rivian also has a credible product cadence, a rarity among EV specialists but a necessity in automotive manufacturing.

Rivian has just released a number of significant upgrades to its R1T and R1S pickup and SUV. A pair of smaller, more affordable SUVs are available.

“Rivian has moved to the go/no-go point,” said IHS Global Mobility analyst Stephanie Brinley.

Contact Mark Phelan: 313-222-6731 or [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @mark_phelan. Read more on passenger cars and sign up with us car newsletter. Become a subscriber.

This article originally appeared on the Detroit Free Press: Buying an Electric Vehicle? You can trust Rivian to survive.