Electric vehicle startup Rivian hasn't delivered any vehicles but is already preparing to expand outside of North America.
The company plans to enter Europe in 2022 and China shortly thereafter, initially with its R1S full-size SUV, R.J. Scaringe, CEO and co-founder of Rivian, told Reuters in an interview published Wednesday.
The company will then introduce smaller models tailored for customers in those markets and look at production outside of the United States, he said.
Rivian CEO and founder RJ Scaringe
Scaringe in 2019 said Rivian was looking to launch up to six vehicles by 2025. One of these is thought to be a performance-oriented SUV smaller than the R1S.
Rivian's sole plant at present is a former Mitsubishi plant located in Normal, Illinois. It's due to start churning out the R1S and related R1T pickup truck shortly for deliveries starting next summer. Rivian in 2021 will also start production of a delivery van at the Normal plant for Amazon. Rivian counts the online retailer as a key investor alongside Ford. Rivian and Ford plan to work on joint vehicles, though a plan for a Lincoln SUV based on a Rivian platform has been nixed.
Rivian's R1S and R1T starting deliveries next summer will be special launch editions offering 300 miles of range and prices starting from $77,500 and $75,000, respectively. Standard versions of each will arrive in 2022, with pricing starting from $70,000 for the R1S and $67,500 for the R1T.
