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Rivian built up a stockpile of batteries for its trucks, SUVs, and commercial vans before and after the election of Donald Trump, a strategy used to soften the blow of the president\u2019s tariffs, according to Bloomberg News<\/a>.<\/p>\n The company apparently bought an undisclosed number of lithium iron phosphate batteries from Chinese firm Gotion before the election. The batteries were for Rivian\u2019s delivery vans, the bulk of which are made for Amazon. After the election (although it\u2019s not clear exactly when) Rivian worked with Samsung SDI \u201cto move a large amount of battery inventory to the U.S. from South Korea,\u201d Bloomberg reports.<\/p>\n The stockpiles should help reduce the pricing pressure caused by Trump\u2019s auto tariffs, which are applied to components that car companies bring into the U.S. to use in vehicles. Trump altered those tariffs this week, providing some relief compared to his original plan of applying an across-the-board 25% tax on imported parts; Trump\u2019s revised tariff plan will still likely lead to price hikes on new cars<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n