Sam Krahn 
Rivian has a big year ahead of them. The startup electric vehicle manufacturer with a penchant for off-road adventure vehicles will launch their halo R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV this year, along with a delivery van for Amazon. Getting their development finalized and production sorted is top priority, but Rivian and founder RJ Scaringe are still happy to look towards the future even during this big year. Motor Trend recently interviewed Scaringe, and the story gave us our best look yet at the future for Rivian, including models beyond the R1T and R1S.
The “R1” line of vehicles is the top of Rivian’s full eventual lineup. They represent the pinnacle of what the brand can do, so it made sense for them to roll out first. You may notice the Rivian R1T and R1S look very similar, and this shows it’s no accident. Below the R1 family will slot an R2 line, riding on a different, smaller platform. Below that will be the R3 family.
Scaringe didn’t divulge any more details, but it’s fair to assume these upcoming models will have a similar off-road adventure focus. We will probably see a Rivian R2T pickup below the R1T, and and R2S SUV below the R1S. Think of the R1 line as full size vehicles, while the R2 will be cheaper and mid-size. The same is probably true for R3, although we wouldn’t be surprised to only see a compact crossover and not a pickup.
“I started Rivian to have impact, and to have impact we need a broad portfolio of vehicles. What we will be building over the next five years extends well beyond what we are looking at today,” said Scaringe in the Motor Trend interview.
Scaringe also revealed what the R1S (and presumably the R1T) have been benchmarked against, as there hasn’t been anything like it in the past. He said the Porsche Cayenne was the road dynamics benchmark, while the Jeep Wrangler and Range Rover were for off-road. Audi was the target for build quality. If the Rivian R1S and R1T can match all of those vehicles, or at least strike a balance, it should be very good indeed. As the world shifts increasingly towards electrification, the R1S and R1T will get more competitors, but it’ll be interesting to see how they compare to these internal combustion benchmarks when they hit the roads.
But as mentioned, Rivian has plenty to keep them busy with the lead up to the R1T, R1S and van launch. The R1T will enter production first, this June, followed by the R1T in August. The Amazon delivery van will roll out this fall, and seriously ramp up in the coming years.
