Written by Cláudio Afonso | [email protected] | LinkedIn | X
RJ Scaringe, CEO of electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian, declined to disclose the order backlog for the R2 model, with deliveries in the US set to commence in early 2026.
Speaking to Bloomberg, Scaringe expressed enthusiasm for the upcoming model, stating that “the excitement around R2 and just the product and what it represents for us in terms of expansion of the brand has been outstanding.”
However, he opted not to reveal the orders backlog for the recently launched midsize SUV R2, citing concerns about “churn and noise from a customer point of view.”
In March, Rivian unveiled its latest midsize platform, which serves as the basis for both the R2 and R3 product lines. The R2 model is “expected to start around $45,000,” while the R3 “will be priced below R2,” marking Rivian’s introduction of new lower-cost vehicles. Deliveries of the R2 are expected to begin in the first half of 2026 in the United States.
In August 2022, Rivian disclosed that, as of the end of June, it had received 98,000 orders for its R1T pickup and R1S SUV. Additionally, with Amazon’s orders for delivery vans, Rivian had a total of 200,000 orders to fulfill by mid-2022.
Scaringe noted a departure from Rivian’s approach with the R1, stating, “Different than what we did on R1, we’ve taken a decision to not disclose where we are in terms of reservations. It causes a lot of churn and noise from a customer point of view. And we’ve taken the view of we want to be customer-centric in how we look at this.
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The CEO suggested that the decision to disclose orders for the first model didn’t meet expectations, stating, “We’ve learned a lot from how we managed our pre-order process with R1.”
Rivian reported on Tuesday its financial results from the first quarter of 2024 posting wider than expected losses and reiterating its annual production guidance of 57,000 vehicles.
During the conference call, Morgan Stanley analyst Adam Jonas asked Rivian’s CEO RJ Scaringe regarding a DigiTimes report suggesting Apple’s interest in collaborating with a US EV startup, with Rivian being singled out as a “very likely candidate”.
The chief executive said Rivian “doesn’t comment on market rumors” adding later that the company’s in-vehicle technology gives the automaker “a lot of customer facing strength” while it creates “opportunities for partnership certainly”.
Rivian received last week a $827M incentive package from the State of Illinois allowing the expansion of its plant in Normal as it prepares to produce the new generation of vehicles.
Written by Cláudio Afonso | [email protected] | LinkedIn | X
