One among Rivian’s former suppliers is at present suing the electrical car (EV) maker, claiming that it didn’t pay a reimbursement clause for cancellations on a contract for electrical motors.
Rivian final yr moved to carry the manufacturing of its EV motors in-house, successfully cancelling a provide take care of Bosch after claiming the provider had “reckless failures” in delivering the variety of motors wanted. Now, Bosch is claiming that Rivian refused to pay $204 million in reimbursements for the cancelled plans, leaving the corporate with vital stranded capital and a gap in income (through Automotive Information).
Bosch sued Rivian in July for breaching the contract, and the automaker instantly adopted up with a lawsuit of its personal in opposition to the provider. In its countersuit, Rivian blamed Bosch for manufacturing shortages and mentioned that the corporate’s failure to ship on the electrical motors deal had resulted in a 30,000-unit drop in deliberate manufacturing output.
As a part of the partnership, Bosch invested hundreds of thousands of {dollars} into tooling a manufacturing facility in Germany, the place it first produced the e-motors for Rivian. The corporate additionally constructed a 30,000-square-foot manufacturing line at its plant in South Carolina to assist produce the models.
“Given these vital investments and that Rivian was an electrical car startup that had by no means manufactured automobiles earlier than, Rivian contracted to reimburse Bosch for all its unamortized prices ought to Rivian cancel this system early,” Bosch mentioned within the lawsuit.
Bosch was initially contracted to construct 200,000 motors for Rivian this yr, although the automaker formally cancelled the contract final September. Within the swimsuit, Bosch claims that Rivian had “secretly” been planning to interchange the provision with its personal Enduro e-motor system, regardless of having informed Bosch that the 2 could be utilized in tandem.
The corporate additionally says that Rivian’s manufacturing points have been associated to semiconductor shortages, moderately than these of its e-motors.
“Whereas Rivian’s alternative to chop prices and develop a brand new product could also be comprehensible, Rivian can’t merely ignore its contractual duties to reimburse Bosch,” the corporate provides.
Rivian and Bosch each declined to touch upon the authorized efforts in a press release to Automotive Information associates at Crain’s Detroit Enterprise.
Regardless of cancelling the order, Rivian has struggled with manufacturing of the motors in its personal proper, with the corporate earlier this month lowering its manufacturing steering by 8,000 to 10,000 models to as an alternative goal for between 47,000 and 49,000 this yr. The automaker cited an more and more troublesome components scarcity that had been affecting its manufacturing of each its R1 and van models.
In August, Rivian alluded to an analogous components scarcity that prompted it to pause van manufacturing. It’s unclear if the 2 shortages are associated, as in each circumstances, Rivian didn’t reply to Teslarati’s requests for remark or disclose what elements had been having provide points.
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