Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
In a session titled “The Road Ahead for EVs” at the Climate Forward event in New York City, RJ Scaringe, the founder and CEO of Rivian, discussed the industry’s short-term challenges and political hurdles.
Scaringe stressed that the global shift to 100 percent electric vehicles is inevitable, though the timeline remains uncertain.
“We can debate whether that’s in 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years,” Scaringe said, “but the reality is to get to that point, it is a massive transition.”
He noted that with over 1.5 billion vehicles currently on the road worldwide, replacing the entire fleet with electric models would take decades, even if all new vehicles were electric starting today.
“We’re talking about decades, maybe generations here, to get to that 100% moment,” Rivian CEO stated.
However, Scaringe pointed out that a lack of consumer choices is slowing this transition, particularly in the U.S. market.
“If you’re looking to buy a vehicle under $50,000, there are very few compelling choices,” he remarked, explaining that Rivian plans to introduce new, more affordable models in the coming years.
Here’s the complete video of the session at the Climate Forward.
Despite the industry’s slow growth, Scaringe said that the EV market is still expanding, with 2024 projected to see the highest volume of electric vehicle sales ever. “2024 will be the highest volume of electric vehicles sold ever. We expect 2025 to be higher than 2024,” Scaringe stated. However, he acknowledged that the growth rate has plateaued, which he attributes to the limited number of affordable options for consumers.
Rivian, which has built a reputation for its premium electric trucks and SUVs priced over $70,000, is preparing to launch a more affordable lineup. Scaringe underscored the importance of this move, noting, “Our next set of products coming in at under $50,000 is a really key enabler to give customers an alternative.”
He noted the partisan nature of EV adoption, particularly in the U.S., where electric vehicles are more popular among Democrats than Republicans.
“There’s no reason electrification should be a partisan issue,” Scaringe said, adding that misinformation and a lack of understanding about the battery supply chain contribute to the divide.
Scaringe also warned that political moves to slow the EV transition, such as rolling back the Inflation Reduction Act or eliminating the EV tax credit, could have severe consequences.
“While certainly there could be headwinds created with policies that are… less pro-electrification,” he said, “in the end state, it doesn’t change.”
Scaringe addressed the ongoing challenge of EV charging infrastructure, acknowledging that the industry has lagged behind in building out a reliable network.
“We started to realize maybe three years ago that there just wasn’t the level of investment necessary in our charging infrastructure to drive mass adoption,” he said.
Rivian recently partnered with Tesla to use its charging network, a decision Scaringe defended despite delays in Tesla providing adapters for Rivian vehicles.
“Tesla has been a great partner to us on this,” he said, adding that Tesla and Rivian engineers work closely to ensure compatibility and seamless charging experiences for customers.
“Tesla’s like 99% or 98 and a half percent. So the reason I say all that is we put an agreement together with Tesla allows us to access their network. A number of other manufacturers have done this as well”, Scaringe said.
“And our network, we’re about to open up. So today it’s Rivian only. I’m really excited to open it up so that there are two great networks being built in the United States”, he added.
Earlier this week, Jefferies analyst Philippe Houchois published a new research note on the company following the firm’s visit to the company’s facilities in Palo Alto, California.
Despite concerns over Rivian’s Q4 gross margin breakeven goal, Jefferies analyst reiterated a Buy rating and $17.00 price target on the stock indicating a 45 percent upside on the shares.
Last week, Rivian officially started shipping out models of its Gen 2 R1T and R1S EVs with the new tri-motor configuration.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | LinkedIn | X
