For years, Rivian has been promising to make a smaller, more affordable electric SUV that will sit alongside its pricier R1T and R1S vehicles, and that day is finally here. The company will reveal the R2 at a livestreamed event in Laguna Beach, California, at 10AM PT (1PM ET) on March 7th, 2024.
Much about the R2 has already leaked, including its estimated price (around $47,000), its range (330 miles), and its headlights (oval, of course). In fact, the entire vehicle may have already been spotted recently at a video shoot in California. But that’s not to say that Rivian won’t have a few surprises in store for the actual event.
The R2 is a crucial vehicle for Rivian, which has been struggling to reach profitability amid a broader slowdown in EV sales growth. Rivian is what’s known as a “pure EV play,” meaning it only makes EVs and doesn’t have any internal combustion engines or even hybrids to fall back on when sales start to dip. The company has gone through several rounds of layoffs in recent years and has warned that its sales are likely to stay flat in 2024.
The R2 will provide a glimpse into how Rivian will navigate this more uncertain future. Will it be the company’s Tesla Model 3? Only time will tell.
Highlights
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It looks very Land Rover Defender to me in person.
At 6’1, RJ towers over Rivian’s R2.
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And here it is in the flesh.
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Here’s the Rivian R2.
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‘We’re here to talk about what’s next.’
“How we get a lot more people into our products into our into our brand,” he says. “And how do we make it really more accessible to a lot more people.” And now he’s teeing up the R2.
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Big applause for ‘access the Tesla Supercharger network.’
Rivian was one of the first to announce plans to adopt Tesla’s NACS charging standard. “I think we’re gonna see a big shift in the mosaic of charging solutions and the technology,” Scaringe says.
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Everything but the R2, so far.
RJ is highlighting the company’s new theater in Laguna Beach, as well as details about Rivian’s mobile repair service and EV charging infrastructure. Everything but what we’re all here to see.
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‘Optimism about the future.’
Scaringe is really emphasizing the company’s “people first” ethos, which contrasts with Tesla’s dystopian, end-of-the-world vibe. This includes very Apple-esque montage of people walking dogs, kayaking, etc.
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RJ kicks things off with a quick recap.
“These are products that redefined what a truck was, what an SUV was,” he says of the company’s R1 line. “It enabled a level of performance capability, everyday usability that really never before been seen.”
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Props to Rivian for actually starting on time.
Unlike some other EV companies that shall remain nameless. Right now, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe is taking the stage.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Rivian / screenshot -
Peter Berg, director of Lone Survivor, is in the audience.
(And about a half dozen other Mark Wahlberg movies.) I didn’t identify him myself. I’m sitting with a woman I know who’s a reporter who used to do Hollywood coverage.
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A nice backdrop for the R2.
There was a line almost around the back for both media and “guests” when I arrived at 9:15AM.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Abigail Bassett / The Verge -
Rivian’s R2 event is about to get underway.
I’ll be live-blogging the event when it starts at approximately 10AM PT/1PM ET. And we’ve got the intrepid Abigail Bassett on the ground in Laguna Beach keeping an eye on everything IRL. So stay tuned for all the EV goodies to come.
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Rivian is pulling the cover off its latest electric vehicle today, and unless you live anywhere near Laguna Beach, California, you’ll probably be watching the livestream.
The event starts at 10AM PT/ 1PM ET. According to details that leaked from the Laguna Beach City Council, the company plans to hold the event in the park adjacent to the former South Coast Theater, now named the Rivian South Coast Theater, which serves as the company’s “first flagship retail location.”
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Rivian Rivian likes to think of itself as a trailblazer. It was first to market with an all-electric truck and is still one of the few companies today selling an electric three-row SUV. And its EVs are marketed for off-road adventures — the literal blazing of trails.
But on March 7th, Rivian will release its next vehicle, and arguably, it won’t be breaking a lot of new ground. The Rivian R2 is a two-row compact SUV with around 300 miles of range and a starting price somewhere around $45,000. It’s not exactly a major disruption by today’s standards, where the Tesla Model Y, Ford Mustang Mach-E, and other compact electric SUVs currently dominate the sales chart.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Rivian Ahead of its launch on March 7th, key specs for Rivian’s upcoming R2 electric SUV were briefly visible via the source code on the company’s teaser site, Electrek reports. These include a range of up to 330 miles, a 0-60mph acceleration in three seconds, five seats, and a starting price of $47,000 (though a $47,500 starting price was reportedly also mentioned on other parts of the site). Deliveries are expected to start in 2026, per the website’s code, which is in line with previous reports.
Rivian has been teasing its R2 electric vehicle for a while now, which is expected to be a smaller and more affordable compact SUV versus its current R1S. The company has publicly said it’s targeting a price of between $40,000 to $60,000 for the new car, undercutting its current SUV and truck which both have starting prices in excess of $70,000. It’s a similar approach to the one taken by Tesla with its Model Y, the more compact version of the Model X that’s since become a global best-seller.
Is this Rivian’s R2 vehicle in the wild?A number of photos appearing to show Rivian’s more affordable R2 vehicle at a photoshoot in LA have cropped up on the internet. They’re a little blurry, but they seem like they could be legit. Compared to an R1S, the new R2 vehicle is smaller and appears to have a different charging port and new wheels. Whether these images are real or not, we’ll get a much closer look at the official reveal March 7th.
Rivian is keeping the oval headlights for its R2 vehicle.You’d be mistaken if you thought Rivian would ditch the signature lights for its next-generation electric trucks and SUVs! Ovals for life, baby!
The R2 is getting a proper reveal on March 7th, which will be livestreamed on X.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Screenshot: Rivian Rivian’s second-generation vehicle platform will be revealed on March 7th.We already knew the date thanks to the Laguna Beach city council. What we don’t know is whether we’re going to see a whole vehicle or just the chassis. I expect there to be at least a prototype, but what do I know? Rivian has said that R2 will serve as the platform for its next vehicle, a more affordable compact SUV expected to go into production in 2026.
City council members in Laguna Beach, California met last night prepared to approve a request (PDF) from Rivian to park six vehicles on the grass in a city park for a March 7th “R2 launch.” The company appears to be planning to officially announce its forthcoming electric SUV, the R2, which is supposed to be smaller and more affordable than its current lineup of EVs.
A local community publication called Stu News Laguna reported yesterday that a small item on the city council’s consent calendar showed that it was planning to approve the event in a single motion along with many other agenda items. The six vehicles Rivian wants to park are “for informational purposes only,” Stu News writes.
Rivian released its first-ever environmental and social impact report, in which the company commits to building a new generation of electric vehicles that are even less polluting than its current generation.
Rivian said its goal is to launch a product by 2030 “with half the lifecycle carbon footprint” as its 2022 R1 vehicles, which include the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV. “Lifecycle carbon footprint” refers to all the greenhouse gas emissions, direct and indirect, associated with a product’s activities. For an EV, that would include its production, operation, and charging, from conception to junkyard.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Photo by Daniel Golson for The Verge Rivian has had a few interesting weeks that included its alignment with big legacy automakers to adopt Tesla’s North American Charging Standard (NACS) on future vehicles and a little poaching of Tesla’s head of raw materials. But under the radar is one more surprise: CarBuzz is reporting the growing EV company revealed some pricing details last week on its upcoming R2 platform vehicle.
The smaller-size SUV, built on the lower-cost R2 platform, will cost from $40,000 to $60,000. That’s according to Rivian CFO Claire McDonough, who spoke at last week’s Deutsche Bank conference. McDonough said that it “creates a nice stretch for the brand,” mentioning that the current R1 platform vehicles start at around $73,000.
a:hover]:text-gray-63 [&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-black dark:[&>a:hover]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a:hover]:shadow-underline-gray [&>a]:shadow-underline-gray-63 dark:[&>a]:text-gray-bd dark:[&>a]:shadow-underline-gray”>Image: Rivian A year ago, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe said the company was on track to launch its next-generation R2 electric vehicle platform in 2025. Now, Scaringe is giving Rivian fans a teaser of the new compact SUV that’s expected to be much more affordable than the R1S, which currently starts at $78,000.
During an Instagram Q&A session hosted by Scaringe over Memorial Day weekend, the CEO took a moment to link up with Rivian lead designer Jeff Hammoud to show a glimpse of the R2’s shape. The two stood in front of a clay model of an R2 covered with a black cloth, outlining a vehicle that seems boxy like an R1S but smaller.
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