Rivian is a relatively new automaker that aims to take on the EV market. Rivian’s first vehicle, the R1T electric pickup truck, looks like it’s going to be a great truck overall. However, not all is going well at Rivian. Just like how Rivian delayed its tank turn feature, Rivian is now delaying certain vehicles until 2023.
Rivian has been very successful so far
Rivian R1T | Getty Images
Founded in 2009, Rivian decided early on that it would be a company that produced EVs. Rivian’s engineers worked for many years in relative silence as they ironed out the kinks of their first products. In 2018, Rivian showed off its first two vehicles, the R1T electric pickup truck and the R1S electric SUV, at an auto show.
This created a lot of hype, as Tesla hadn’t revealed its Cybertruck at the time yet. Not long after, many major corporations, including Ford and Amazon, invested heavily into Rivian. Not only does Amazon own 20% of Rivian, but Amazon also ordered over 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian.
Besides the investment and hype, Rivian also started making deliveries of the R1T to customers in late 2021. Unfortunately, things haven’t gone smoothly. Rivian was supposed to start delivering the R1T in July 2021, but Rivian was forced to delay that until later in the year. Rivian is now delaying certain R1Ts for a whole year.
Certain Rivian R1Ts will be delayed until 2023
According to CarBuzz, Rivian has been forced to delay the deliveries of roughly 20% of R1Ts that have been ordered already. This delay has to do with Rivian’s battery options. Most Rivian customers have ordered their R1T with the standard 135-kWh battery, which gets about 314 miles of range.
20% of Rivian customers ordered the largest battery option, which is a 180-kWh battery that gets 400 miles of range. On top of that, because Rivian wants to fulfill Amazon’s electric delivery van order on time, Rivian is struggling to keep up with demand, according to CarBuzz.
As a result, Rivian chose to delay deliveries of the R1T with the 180-kWh battery option until 2023. This way, Rivian can focus on delivering cars to the most people as possible. Rivian also mentioned that it would create a new website in the future for folks who pre-ordered a Rivian to keep track of their estimated delivery times.
A look at the specs of the Rivian R1T
This is a huge bummer for many customers, as the R1T seems to be selling well, so 20% of R1T customers having to wait until 2023 is a lot of customers. Regardless, what this delay will mean, however, is that customers who chose a smaller battery pack will get to experience all the cool features of the R1T this year.
For example, the R1T has three main storage options. Since it’s a truck, it has a 4.5-foot long truck bed. However, since it doesn’t have an engine in the front, it also has a frunk that has about 11 cubic feet of cargo space. In addition to that, the R1T also has a Gear Tunnel, which provides about 11.6 cubic feet of cargo space.
The R1T is a competent full-size truck in terms of specs. It can tow up to 11,000 pounds, and it can also go from 0 to 60 mph in just 3 seconds. But, it won’t be cheap, as it starts at about $67,500.
Keyword: Rivian Begins to Struggle With Another Delay Looming