SAN FRANCISCO, Feb. 15 (Xinhua) -- U.S. online retailing giant Amazon is leading a 700-million-U.S.-dollar funding round for electric truck startup Rivian Automotive, Rivian said Friday.
Rivian said the latest funds will help produce its first all-electric vehicles -- the R1T pickup truck and the seven-seat R1S SUV, which were revealed in the LA Auto Show, an international event for world automakers held in Los Angeles, Southern California last November.
"This investment is an important milestone for Rivian and the shift to sustainable mobility," said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO.
"We are excited to have Amazon with us on our journey to create products, technology and experiences that reset expectations of what is possible," he added.
Scaringe said Amazon's support will help his company's goal to improve electric vehicles' performance, capability, efficiency, as well as drive innovation to improve customer experience.
Rivian said it is expected to deliver its R1T electric pickup and R1S SUV to customers in late 2020.
The two vehicles will have up to more than 400 miles (about 644 km) of range with extraordinary performance, off-road capability and utility, said the auto company.
"We're inspired by Rivian's vision for the future of electric transportation," said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer.
Rivian now employs more than 750 workers, with development centers in Michigan's Plymouth, San Jose and Irvine in California, and Surrey in Britain.
Last week, self-driving car startup Aurora announced that Amazon joined other investors like Sequoia and energy giant Shell to help it raise more than 530 million dollars in funding.
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