Amazon-backed EV startup Rivian targets over $53 billion valuation in

(Reuters) -Electric vehicle maker Rivian Automotive Inc, which is backed by Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:) and Ford Motor (NYSE:) Co, said on Monday it was targeting a valuation of more than $53 billion in its initial public offering in the United States.

The company, which last month disclosed nearly $1 billion in losses for the first half of this year, said it will sell 135 million shares at a price range of between $57 and $62 each.

At the top end of the range, the IPO will fetch more than $8 billion.

While the company has yet to sell any significant volume of its electric vans or trucks, a valuation over $50 billion would make Rivian worth about $15 billion less than Ford, which makes about 4 million vehicles a year.

It would potentially be valued higher than Ferrari (NYSE:), but would be smaller than General Motors (NYSE:) and Honda Motor.

Rivian has been investing heavily to ramp up production, including for its upscale all-electric R1T pickup truck, which was launched in September beating out competition from established rivals such as Tesla (NASDAQ:) Inc, General Motors and Ford.

The startup had about 48,390 pre-orders for its R1T pickup trucks and R1S SUVs in the United States and Canada as of September.

The company is currently pursuing a two-track strategy: building electric delivery vans for Amazon and developing an electric pickup and SUV brand aimed at affluent individuals.

Rivian will, however, face competition from automakers in both the consumer and commercial van markets.

Ford said last week it has more than 160,000 orders for its F-150 Lightning electric pickup truck and that an electric version of its Transit commercial van is “completely sold out.”

General Motors is gearing up production of electric delivery vans, SUVs and pickup trucks.

Morgan Stanley (NYSE:), Goldman Sachs (NYSE:) and J.P. Morgan are the lead underwriters. Rivian will list on the Nasdaq under the symbol “RIVN”.