Rivian, an electric car company backed by Amazon, will add Alexa voice assistant capability to its R1T pickup and R1S SUV, which are tentatively set for an end-of-year release, according to a report.
The company will also add Alexa to the 100,000 delivery trucks Amazon has ordered, which are slated to be on the road delivering packages by 2021.
The two vehicles will be equipped with the full bevy of Alexa features, including navigation, phone calls, music, climate control and car commands like opening and closing doors.
There are other vehicle-only Alexa capabilities being planned as well, such as being able to use the vehicle’s camera along with Amazon-connected services, like Echo Show and Fire TV, to see what’s inside the car.
Rivian aims to “enable exploration without compromises and provide our owners [with] the best digital experience, no matter where their adventure takes them,” said Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe. “We want this to be the most comprehensive, most seamless Alexa integration in the market.”
Amazon has been making more moves into the automotive industry, and Lamborghini recently said it will add Alexa capability to its Huracán EVO sports vehicle.
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Amazon has directly invested in Rivian. “We’re inspired by Rivian’s vision for the future of electric transportation,” Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer Jeff Wilke said about the investment in February. “RJ has built an impressive organization, with a product portfolio and technology to match. We’re thrilled to invest in such an innovative company.”
Amazon’s other related initiatives include Amazon Key, which gives delivery personnel direct access to homes for package drop-off, and Amazon In-Car, which is an expansion of the key service that allows for package drop-off to a vehicle. The Amazon Key In-Car service was first adopted by GM and Volvo.
