Upon the unveiling of the Rivian R2 concept earlier this year, a round of applause erupted from the audience. This electric crossover signifies a new chapter for Rivian as it sets its sights on the broader market with a more economical model. Judging by the number of reservations, excitement is steadily mounting.
At an event held at Rivian’s facility in Normal, Illinois this recent Sunday, Tim Fallon, the startup’s vice president of production, disclosed that pre-orders for the R2 have surpassed “more than 100,000,” according to a report by radio station WGLT. Fallon mentioned that orders were increasing in a natural manner. The R2 had already amassed over 68,000 reservations back in March, just within 24 hours of the ordering period opening up.
Rivian aims to penetrate the mass market.
Presently, the California-based EV startup Rivian offers two models, the R1T electric truck and the R1S SUV. These are both luxury EVs geared towards adventures that are out of reach for most Americans. With the upcoming R2 crossover, Rivian aims to alter that landscape.
WGLT mentioned that Rivian is set to recruit additional staff to meet its objective of launching the R2 into the market by 2026. The model, resembling a miniature R1, is slated to kick off at $45,000, placing it in the same price bracket as the Tesla Model Y. The Model Y emerged as the best-selling car globally across all categories in 2023, prompting several automakers to target that price segment.
The R2 is anticipated to offer similar capabilities to the significantly more expensive R1 models, albeit in a compact, more accessible package. It is approximately 15 inches shorter than the R1S and the larger battery is projected to provide a minimum range of 300 miles, Rivian stated. It will be available in single, dual, and tri-motor versions. The tri-motor option is expected to achieve a 0-60 miles per hour time of under 3 seconds.
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Current owners of Rivian R1T and R1S can already utilize Tesla Superchargers with an adapter. The R2 will come equipped with the North American Charging Standard (NACS) port as standard. If the port functions as intended, tens of thousands of additional charging points across the U.S. would be accessible to R2 owners.
While the R2 and its smaller counterparts, the R3 and R3X, garnered an enthusiastic response during their introduction earlier this year, they also faced some skepticism about the startup’s sustainability over the coming decade. However, Rivian has achieved significant milestones since then. It secured $827 million in state incentives to expand the Normal factory.
In addition, last month, the Volkswagen Group established a partnership with Rivian to license its software and electrical architecture, further developing it for forthcoming VW and Rivian models. As part of this agreement, VW’s investment in Rivian amounts to $5 billion.
Furthermore, the expansion of the plant should afford Rivian an annual production capacity of 215,000 units. Out of these, Rivian projects 155,000 units to be R2 models. This scale should theoretically enable the automaker to meet the demand, pending the pace at which production reaches full capacity.