Rivian is planning a broader range of electric commercial vehicles in a spread of sizes and styles, and expects to be constructing hundreds of thousands of EVs a yr at a number of crops after 2030, Chief Executive R.J. Scaringe mentioned.
Speaking with Reuters forward of the formal unveiling with Amazon of the big EDV-700 supply van, Scaringe mentioned “there will be a host of other applications in the commercial space” based mostly on the so-called RCV platform that underpins the Amazon van that Rivian is constructing in Normal, Illinois.
“We’re thinking about many other aspects of the commercial space outside of last-mile delivery (including) cargo and work vans,” Scaringe mentioned. “We’ve had a whole host of discussions with other customers.” He did not establish the opposite potential clients.
Scaringe’s imaginative and prescient for Rivian mirrors that of Elon Musk for Tesla Inc, which additionally struggled in its first decade and a half earlier than income and income began to surge. Musk has mentioned he expects Tesla to construct 20 million EVs yearly by 2030.
Rivian has struggled to fulfill manufacturing targets for its R1T pickup and R1S utility automobile, and not too long ago mentioned it had delayed some applications – together with the abroad launch of the R1S – and will trim head depend with a purpose to scale back prices.
The California startup reported it had greater than $16 billion in money on the finish of the primary quarter, however analysts have mentioned the present money burn fee might quickly deplete that.
In the interview, Scaringe mentioned Rivian is also planning a smaller household of commercial vehicles, which might share some parts with the corporate’s upcoming R2 electric crossover, on account of begin manufacturing in 2025 at a brand new $5 billion Georgia plant.
That sequence might be constructed on a brand new platform with “a smaller footprint, a smaller form factor” than the EDV-700 that is being shipped to Amazon, he mentioned.
Scaringe mentioned he nonetheless expects Rivian to be constructing 1 million EVs a yr by 2030, “and we hope to be building a lot more than that as we get out into the 2030s.”
“That’s going to require multiple vehicles, different platforms and sizes. And ultimately multiple plants above and beyond what we have in Normal and what’s been announced in Atlanta. There will be additional facilities that will allow us to go into these different markets and scale up.”
Amazon is Rivian‘s largest shareholder, with a 20% stake. It has ordered 100,000 supply vans by way of 2025.
A prime Amazon govt mentioned Rivian will not be the e-commerce big’s solely automobile provider, citing current offers with Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz.
“Given our scale and the vehicle needs we’re going to have over the next 10 years, we will certainly have more than one partner,” mentioned Udit Madan, Amazon’s vice chairman of transportation.
Madan mentioned the corporate is testing 15 differing kinds of electric commercial vehicles from completely different suppliers, “from delivery vehicles to e-bikes and e-rickshaws.”
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