Rivian's first batch of electric pickups and SUVs is already sold out as the Amazon-backed EV startup faces production constraints
Rivian opened up the order pages for its R1T pickup and R1S SUV to the public Monday.
The electric-vehicle startup expects manufacturing constraints through the next few years, meaning that most buyers won't receive their vehicles until 2022, Bloomberg reports.
Rivian is accelerating its production ramp-up to meet demand, but launching the R1S, R1T, and an Amazon delivery vehicle in 2021 is a complex undertaking, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe told Bloomberg.
As of Monday morning, anyone can now configure and preorder a new pickup or SUV from electric-vehicle startup Rivian. But buyers will need to decide whether the much-anticipated R1T and R1S are worth the long wait before plunking down a $1,000 deposit.
Whereas before only early buyers who had reserved a Launch Edition model could configure their new Rivian, now prospective EV owners can preorder a standard model and customize it to their liking, choosing from various exterior colors, battery sizes, interior layouts, and unique options like a $5,000 camp kitchen.
However, due to limited production capacity, it may be quite a while before customers get their hands on the vehicles, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said in a Bloomberg TV interview posted Monday.
"We [will be] supply-constrained for a very long time," he said. "Currently with the orders we have, people will be in queue far longer than we like. We originally planned on a ramp-up that had excess demand, massive supply constraints through 2023."
Rivian announced Friday that it had sold out of reservations for the Launch Edition R1T and R1S, which it plans to deliver starting in June 2021 and August 2021, respectively. The Adventure model and the less expensive Explore trim won't hit the streets until January 2022 at the earliest.
Most buyers probably won't receive their R1S or R1T before the first quarter of 2022, Bloomberg reported, with factors like the buyer's location, where they are on the preorder list, and the model they chose all affecting when they can expect to take delivery.
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Rivian is now accelerating its production ramp-up in order to get customers vehicles more quickly, Scaringe said. But launching three vehicles in 2021 — the R1S, R1T, and an electric delivery van for Amazon, which has a stake in the EV maker — is a complex undertaking, he said. Adding to the complexity is the fact that Rivian is developing its consumer vehicles in multiple trims and battery configurations, Bloomberg notes.
After operating in stealth mode for several years, Rivian has emerged as one of the more promising challengers to Tesla in the EV space. The company has received more than $6 billion in funding to date from investors including BlackRock, T.Rowe Price, Amazon, and Ford.
The battery-powered pickup segment is set to explode over the coming years, with Tesla, Ford, GM, and a handful of EV upstarts all planning electric trucks. And — even considering its reported production constraints — Rivian may very well beat all those other players to market when customers start taking deliveries of the R1T next summer.
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