Rivian hasn’t delivered the promised R1T pickup on time. But, the company strikes again with the new project. The Rivian R2T compact electric truck concept is presented and it will arrive in 2025 as the model for the following season. Like with the previous concept, there is also the R2S crossover SUV.
The company is yet to start massive production, although they purchased some old Mitsubishi plants back in 2017. Financing is still a problem and Rivian reported debts in 2022. Nevertheless, the carmaker has more than 50 locations in the US and private companies are still investing in it. When will the Rivian R2T compact electric truck appear, we still don’t know, since fans are still waiting for old projects to enter the production.
Rivian was founded in 2009. It was considered as the upcoming big player in the electric automotive industry. Some experts predicted a shiny future, becoming more popular than Tesla. But, it didn’t happen. Elon Musk’s company is still dominating the electric vehicle market. The R1T and R1S vehicles drew a lot of attention in 2018. Even prototypes were tested and the public was impressed with the performances. It took a long time before the truck and the SUV entered production.
It was really bad timing – at the peak of the COVID outburst in 2021. EVs didn’t meet expectations and Rivian is still not a serious rival to Tesla. In the meantime, Elon Musk launched the Cybertruck. It has flaws and a lot of things need to be improved. However, Tesla is proving its supremacy in the electric class once again. It will be harder to do so in the future, with Ford F-150 Lightning, Chevy Silverado 1500 EV and Ram 1500 Revolution on the way.
The R2 is a new, smaller platform for future electric vehicles. A truck and a crossover are already under development and public is already very interested in these models. Rivian built a new factory in Georgia, US. Both R2T and R2S will be produced there. The introduction of vehicles showed us the same body designs as R1T and R1S. However, the upcoming vehicles are smaller and more efficient. The company plans to start deliveries in 2026. The base cost of the Rivian R2T compact electric truck will be $40,000. A dual-motor setup is possible. With advanced options, the MSRP can jump to $60,000. This is a huge discount compared to the R1T, priced from $73,000.
The new platform won’t be capable of holding big batteries that deliver high outputs to the R1 models. The base version cracks 550 hp and the power increases to 800+ horsepower on performance editions with multiple electric motors. The Rivian R2T compact electric truck should offer efficiency instead. That means limited towing capacity and power output, more miles and less frequent visits to recharging stations.
Specifications are still unknown and hard to predict. Rivian can do a lot of things. From this point of view, the compact truck should make 200-250 miles on a single charge. There is no need for a higher towing capacity than 4,000 pounds. That is what the Ford Maverick Hybrid is capable of hauling. The Rivian R2T compact electric truck is going to elevate its performance to the next level.
The compact pickup market is still new. The pioneer is Ford Maverick, launched last year. Soon after that, Hyundai Santa Cruz debuted. Now, other truckmakers are rushing to introduce their small trucks. Toyota Stout should be the first to debut in 2024. Ram 1200 was spotted during tests. While some of them are hybrid trucks, none is using completely electric powertrain. Full-size electric pickups are currently under the spotlights. Fans expect to see the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado 1500 EV and Ram 1500 REV pretty soon. A compact electric pickup is something new we can hear about. Tesla Cybertruck is also a larger model.
The company has a lot of potential, but it lacks the facilities and finances to embody their ideas. That is why we were waiting for the R1 models to arrive too long. The Rivian R2T compact electric truck is ahead of its time since no other company announced such a vehicle. It automatically draws the attention of the public, but also the competition. Expect more concepts similar to the R2 soon.
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