‘Fork in the road’: CEO of Amazon-backed Rivian on why carmakers need to invest in EVs

C armakers that focus on selling fossil fuel engines are at risk of being “woefully behind” on technology by the end of the decade, according to the boss of Rivian, an Amazon-backed US electric carmaker. RJ Scaringe, Rivian’s founder and chief executive, said the car industry has reached a “fork in the road” in the choice between short-term profits and the heavy investments, particularly in software, that will be required to survive. In an interview this month in London, he said many have chosen profits, ramping up the production of petrol or hybrid pickup trucks and SUVs in the US and Europe . Much of the automotive industry in the US and Europe has lobbied to slow the transition to electric vehicles, favouring instead polluting but profitable cars with internal combustion engines. The retreat has been particularly striking in the US , where Donald Trump’s administration has gutted incentives to produce and buy EVs. Ford, General Motors, Honda, Stellantis and Volkswagen, all of which have large US operations, have collectively written off more than $70bn (£53bn) from their previous EV investments, according to Reuters. Workers on the production line at Rivian’s headquarters in California. Photograph: Bloomberg/Getty Images Scaringe said the decisions to focus on profitable petrol cars could come back to haunt manufacturers. He said: “That looks really good financially for 2026, 2027, maybe even 2028. …