Ford Unloads More 7 Million Shares of Rivian

Ford Motor Co. said it has unloaded its stake in Rivian Automotive Inc, putting further pressure on the stock price crash of electric truck makers. According to FactSet, with this sale, Ford holds 86.9 million shares of Rivian, with a 9.7% stake in the company. 

Ford said in a regulatory filing late Friday that it had sold 7 million shares of Rivian at a price of $26.88. This was followed by the sale of 8 million shares at about the same price the last week.

Ford first invested in Rivian in early 2019 as part of a strategic partnership that included a plan to co-develop an electric vehicle. The project was eventually abandoned and the two companies are now directly competing in the emerging electric pickup market.

The rise and fall of Rivian's stock price had a major impact on Ford's earnings. Ford posted an $8.3 billion paper profit last year after Rivian's share price soared after the November IPO. However, the sale of shares in recent months has put pressure on Ford's first quarter, eliminating $5.4 billion from earnings and driving the company into a quarterly loss.

Rivian is one of many EV startups that have surged in reputation over the past year as investors sought access to the expected global boom in EV sales. However, many start-ups are struggling to increase production, hampered by supply chain issues and the complexity of car manufacturing.