QOTD: What Other Legacy/EV Startup Pairings Make Sense?

Tim Healey
by Tim Healey

Volkswagen announced yesterday that it will be dropping $1 billion into Rivian -- and perhaps up to $5 billion over time.

This investment from a legacy automaker into a startup EV maker got me wondering -- what other legacy OEMs should put some cash into EV startups? Which startups should benefit?


I think we can rule Tesla out on this one, it seems to be doing OK. And Fisker failed to get a lifeline from Nissan, and now it's bankrupt.

That leaves Lucid, VinFast, and a whole host of smaller EV startups out there as possible beneficiaries of a cash infusion.

Should GM or Ford give Lucid some money? Toyota and VinFast? Should Nissan now comeback to finish the deal and rescue what's left of Fisker?

What say you?

Sound off below.

[Image: Rivian]

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Tim Healey
Tim Healey

Tim Healey grew up around the auto-parts business and has always had a love for cars — his parents joke his first word was “‘Vette”. Despite this, he wanted to pursue a career in sports writing but he ended up falling semi-accidentally into the automotive-journalism industry, first at Consumer Guide Automotive and later at Web2Carz.com. He also worked as an industry analyst at Mintel Group and freelanced for About.com, CarFax, Vehix.com, High Gear Media, Torque News, FutureCar.com, Cars.com, among others, and of course Vertical Scope sites such as AutoGuide.com, Off-Road.com, and HybridCars.com. He’s an urbanite and as such, doesn’t need a daily driver, but if he had one, it would be compact, sporty, and have a manual transmission.

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  • Varezhka Varezhka 2 days ago
    VinFast and Stellantis, because they can use every CAFE credit they can get, and the reliability/build quality can’t be much worse so no risk of brand being tarnished by VinFast.
  • Wolfwagen Wolfwagen 2 days ago
    Honda and Alpha or Canoo
  • OrpheusSail My mom swapped her Oldsmobile station wagon for one of these when I was in high school. I remember the Infinity stereo sounding nice and the A/C being strong. I'd pick my little brother up from Little League, and he'd sit in the middle seat and have me point the center vents on the dash at him and turn it on full blast.
  • SCE to AUX When will the comments formatting be fixed?
  • Durailer I forgot how these things kind of resembled XJs in the rear quarter. Nice find!When we were kids, we actually wanted our parents to buy one of these so we wouldn’t have to squeeze 3 in the backseat. My dad would refrain, “Volvo doesn’t make minivans for a reason.” In hindsight, our childhood complaint was nothing compared to how my grandparents’ generation would squeeze larger families in their sedans.
  • Blueice Speaking about defects, has anyone ever axe the driverof an Aldi vehicle, what the four rings represent ? It is the most unknown badge of any vehicle. Perhaps themanufacture could add each letter, to the for mentioned rings. The closest replies were, the Olympics, Hula-Hoops, holes-in-family-budget, nose rings and bug deflector. Money, simply can not purchaseintelligence; axe college graduates.
  • Theflyersfan Real world topics for the outsiders to explain to Nissan customers (and let's see if formatting works...no. no it doesn't): How fast can you really go on a temporary spareHow much tape does it take to hold up a bumper, mirror, or headlightOil changes. Are they really necessary?New tires are for wimps. Real men drive on bald tires.Can you drive safely at 10PM with your lights off as long as you can see the glowing instrument panel? Yes. Yes you can.Where to hide the [insert popular drug of choice] in the hidden compartments Nissan has thankfully provided once you get pulled over.Outrunning the police: Discovering how much an Altima can withstand when plowing through the median, leaping over curbs, driving on three wheels because the fourth one was shot out, grazing parked cars, and/or with a pedestrian hanging onto your hood for dear life.And lastly, Jatco and You! When is it time to say goodbye to your old friend because CVT maintenance is just so unnecessary. Potential Nissan drivers might take courses like that to become even better Nissan drivers in the real world.
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