Amazon leads $700mn investment in electric truck startup

San Francisco: US online retail giant Amazon is leading a $700-million funding round for electric truck startup Rivian Automotive, Rivian has said.

The latest funds will help produce its first all-electric vehicles -- the R1T pickup truck and the seven-seat R1S SUV, which were revealed in the November Los Angeles Auto Show, Xinhua news agency reported.

"This investment is an important shift to sustainable mobility," said RJ Scaringe, Rivian founder and CEO on Friday.

Scaringe said it was expected to deliver its R1T and R1S SUV to customers by late 2020. "We're inspired by Rivian's vision for the future of electric transportation," said Jeff Wilke, Amazon CEO Worldwide Consumer.

The two vehicles will have up to more than 400 miles (about 644 km) of range with extraordinary performance, off-road capability and utility, said the auto company.