Rivian recently released an update on the challenges facing the automaker in keeping up with the pace of production. The burying of all the supply chain problems noted in the update is a hint of where Rivian wants to go in the future. The company is working on the R2 platform, something that could form the basis of smaller, more affordable vehicles someday.
April 18, Automotive News report about Rivian’s difficulties in speeding up production. CaliforniaThe automaker has beaten the competition in bringing an electric pickup to market and has stolen our hearts in doing so. Joining the R1T pickup line-up are the R1S SUV and RCV van, and people are wondering when the new Rivian might appear in large numbers.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe spoke to Automotive News about it and acknowledged that bottlenecks in the supply chain are slowing the company down. Scaringe explains that out of the 168 hours in a week, they only make cars for a fraction of those hours. And production is being hampered by a host of small parts like semiconductor chips and the complexity of supply chains because of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine. Rivian is even struggling to get enough harnesses.
But burying all of this is the mention of the new engine, different battery architecture, and new platform, from Automotive News:
The automaker is moving forward with plans to build a new generation of electric motors in-house and develop a proprietary 800-volt battery architecture. In the longer term, Rivian is working on a second platform called R2 for smaller, more affordable vehicles.
Currently, the cheapest way to own a Rivian is to pre-order the R1T Explore, which starts at $67,500. Rivian has previously trademarked names that look like they’ll go with a new platform: R2T, R2S, R2A, R2C, R2R, and R2X.
Based on Rivian’s existing naming, this suggests that the R2T is a smaller pickup while the R2S is a smaller SUV. Nothing else is known about the platform or what those model names mean, but if Rivian’s naming is applicable here then the R2X could be a crossover while the R2S is a sedan. And they can be built at the automaker’s new plant in Georgia.
Meanwhile, Rivian has 83,000 pre-orders for the R1T and R1S as well as an initial order of 100,000 RCV for Amazon. The automaker estimates that it could produce 25,000 vehicles this year, half what it could with a better supply of parts and a fraction of the plant’s total capacity.
I’ve reached out to Rivian to see if it can provide us with more information.
