By Ben Klayman

DETROIT (Reuters) – Ford Motor (NYSE) Co. Despite repeatedly praising its strategic partnership with Rivian electric car maker, Ford Motor (NYSE) Co has no representative on its board of directors prior to the company going public.

Rivian released documents on Oct. 1, which Rivian published before the initial public offering. Although no announcement was made, Alexandra Ford English, Ford executive, left Rivian in May.

We are still looking at ways to collaborate with Viian. “Rivian represents a strategic investment. Ford spokesperson Ian Thibodeau confirmed that the company has nothing to announce on Wednesday.

A filing to the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission shows that Ford has a larger stake in Rivian than 5%. However, Thibodeau indicated that this would end as Rivian became public.

English, the Ford Executive Chairman’s daughter, joined Rivian in May 2020 to replace Joe Hinrichs. Rivian Chief Executive R.J. Scaringe cited English’s passion for mobility, electrification and her family’s long history in transportation when English was introduced.

Rivian did not comment Wednesday on documents that it had filed with U.S regulators. This was due to the silence before its IPO. Rivian wrote in its SEC filing, “Following the offering, none of my stockholders will be able to elect and designate members on our board of directors.

Ford released a press release in March naming English as its No. Rivian’s 2 U.S.-based automaker representative. In May, she was elected as a member of Ford’s board.

Ford executives repeatedly stated that Rivian’s relationship is strategic. However, Ford’s Lincoln division cancelled plans to produce EVs for Rivian in April 2020, as a way to cut costs during the pandemic.

The SEC filing shows that Ford had invested $820million in Rivian during two fundraising rounds. Information on Rivian’s latest funding round of $2.5 billion, which was announced by Rivian in July did not appear in the filing.

Amazon.com (NASDAQ.:) and Cox Automotive (NASDAQ.:), which have Rivian stakes higher than 5% each, have still got board members.

Hau Thai Tan, Ford’s chief product platform officer and operations officer, called Rivian an operational partner in May and stated that Ford is still considering Rivian products.

Jim Farley from Ford stated, in a conference call with analysts that “we love what R.J. has done at Rivian.” It’s strategic. This is not a transactional type of investment. While we’ll keep you informed, it’s still a fundamental investment.