The Rivian R2 program is three years away from production, but it's already starting to come into focus.
On Thursday, Rivian Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough spoke with Emmanuel Rosner from Deutsche Bank at an auto industry conference about the R2's price and reveal timeline.
McDonough said the R2 will be revealed in early 2024. The executive has spent time in the design studio with the team and evaluated the clay models. Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe and design boss Jeff Hammond teased the R2 clay model, which was under a sheet, during an Instagram question and answer session in May.
Despite being covered, it's clear the clay model represents an R2S SUV as it features a boxy profile like the R1S SUV, though it's considerably smaller. The R2S is expected to be about the size of the Jeep Grand Cherokee. Rivian has shown no other body styles for the R2, though it has trademarked the R2T name, indicating a possible pickup truck as well.
Rivian is aiming at a broader market with the R2 to draw higher volumes. McDonough said pricing will straddle the $40,000-$60,000 range. The R1S starts from about $78,000.
The CFO noted the company will aim to refine the cost basis from manufacturing to supply chain for the R2. The automaker will start in a different position when setting up contracts with suppliers than it did as a startup with no product for the R1 in 2018.
Originally, Rivian planned for the R2 platform to enter production in 2025, but in 2022 the company said the smaller, less expensive model was delayed a year until 2026. In 2019, Scaringe said the automaker planned to have six models in the lineup by 2025.
The R2 will be built at Rivian's new vehicle plant being constructed near Atlanta, Georgia. Rivian lost some tax breaks associated with the plant that would have allowed it to avoid paying property tax. The Georgia plant is expected to have an annual capacity of up to 400,000 vehicles.
