Serious competitor on the electric market Rivian is one of the brands to follow in the years to come. The brand is shaking up the rules established so far in the automotive sector. As proof, Amazon carried out a capital increase to the tune of 700 million dollars. In 2009, Ford announced in 2019 a $ 500 million equity investment to benefit from its technical platform for electric vehicles. Finally, Rivian has signed an agreement with Automobili Pininfarina, manufacturer of the Pininfarina Battista, to provide a complete technical platform to the bodybuilder in order to produce an electric SUV, sedan, coupé and convertible fully bodied by Pininfarina. The brand even allows itself to refuse General Motors which was in talks on an agreement of the same type.
Definitely Rivian is a serious competitor of Tesla, but enough to shake the entire automotive industry
More than a decade after its foundation, the Rivian brand announces the imminent production of its first trendy models with the five-seater R1T pickup that will open the ball and the R1S SUV that will follow. Due to the pandemic, it is almost impossible to give a date with certainty, but an official of the brand reveals to us that the production lines of its factory based in Normal, Illinois are being finalized.
Rivian is positioning itself in the leisure adventure vehicle niche, but it is no secret that the American manufacturer has the ambition to take market share from Tesla. More precisely, the year 2019 confirmed the appetite of American consumers for SUVs. Urban 4x4s still dominated sales in the United States. Traditional auto models would have accounted for about 28% of sales, according to Cox Automotive, the rest being generated by SUVs, pickups and crossovers. This leaves interesting levers for the brand, especially with the energy crisis looming.
On the performance side, it’s impressive and we’re going to be entitled to boosted pickups
Spanning 5.475 meters in length and more than two meters wide, the R1T announces a traction capacity of more than 5 tonnes and a wheelbase of 3.075 m. Inside, we discover a contemporary minimalist and refined interior. Clearly, just because there are screens everywhere doesn’t mean that it immediately looks like Tesla. Whether in terms of the materials chosen or the configuration of the space, it’s really different.
To run such a machine, Rivian trusts a platform reminiscent of a skateboard and having four engines of 147 kW each. They are capable of authorizing a maximum speed of 200 km / h. The performance, evaluated on the 0 to 96 km / h, as well as the autonomy, will depend on the size of the battery. There will be three versions: 105, 135 and 180 kWh.
Several elements show that Rivian has serious Rivian advantages such as the “Tank Turn” function which allows the vehicle to turn on itself like a tank and this thanks to the four independent electric motors located at the wheels, which turn in one direction on one side of the vehicle and in the opposite direction on the other side.
The brand also offers autonomous driving – when it will be authorized on the roads thanks to cameras, a LIDAR as well as ultrasonic sensors and very precise location technologies.
The R1T was to start at 69,000 dollars (62,000 euros) for a battery with a capacity of 298 miles + options. Other batteries will emerge with 229 miles of autonomy, but Rivian has not yet released the price.
