Young electric car makers are forced to expand their model ranges “from the top down” in the price hierarchy, since expensive cars help them make enough profit to release more affordable ones. Tesla went this way in its time, and now Rivian is trying to follow its example. The company’s presentation noted five new models that are being prepared for announcement.
Fonte da imagem: Rivian
The document is mostly devoted to the nuances of the announced partnership with Volkswagen, but Rivian’s own plans are covered in a separate slide. Again, in the manner of Tesla, RJ Scaringe’s company hides yet-to-be-announced models under virtual covers, but in this case, focusing on the outlines of the hidden cars doesn’t make much sense. At least, The Verge believes that the top car in the second column from the left is actually intended for Rivian’s commercial customers, such as Amazon, which is also the target of the first-generation EDV vans. Rivian will simply have to transfer them to an updated platform in the future, which is more efficient both in production and in operation. The recently unveiled restyled R1S crossover and R1T pickup are already based on it.
The MSP (mid-size) platform, as you can see from the slide, will be used not only for the R2, R3 and R3X crossovers that are being prepared for production, but also for some other vehicle of unknown purpose. The R2 crossovers will be offered at a price of $45,000, the R3 family will be even cheaper, so the far right column hides three models of Rivian electric vehicles for the mass market, which will be the most affordable in the line of this manufacturer. It cannot be ruled out that among them there will also be an electric pickup, since cars with this type of body are in demand in the North American market, and the R1T was among the first two models of the brand to go into production. Of course, it is one thing to draw presentations for investors, and another to produce electric vehicles in series, but the presence of Rivian’s corresponding plans to expand the range will certainly please many fans of the young brand.