It’s stylish, roomy, has more horsepower than high-end sports cars and can travel nearly 350 miles before a charge.
The all-new Rivian R2, which was teased two years ago, may defy the current state of the industry, which has seen sales of EVs slump and automakers cancel upcoming models.
Rivian’s founder and CEO, RJ Scaringe, is well aware of the EV angst in the market. This R2, he said, could be the vehicle that brings more Americans to the brand and the world of electrification. It has “broad appeal,” he told ABC News earlier this month.
With the average price of a new vehicle hovering around $50,000, Scaringe said the R2 meets consumer expectations. It also joins the company’s R1S and R1T lineup, with another model, the R3 crossover, in the works.
The first R2 to arrive this spring is the $57,990 Performance with Launch Package trim, which has envious specs: 656 horsepower and a 0-60 mph sprint of 3.6 seconds. The R2 Premium model ($53,990) arrives in late 2026 (450 horsepower, EPA-estimated range of up to 330 miles). The least costly version, the R2 Standard is priced at $45,000 and will be available in late 2027.
The SUV, built at the company’s Normal, Illinois, plant, can connect to Tesla’s Supercharger network, helping to ease charging anxiety. Scaringe said R2 sales could total 20,000 to 25,000 in the first year, with the goal to “scale up to 150,000 units” as production capacity expands with the 2028 arrival of Rivian’s Georgia manufacturing site. Rivian recently announced it’s partnering with Uber to launch 50,000 robotaxis in the U.S., an investment of $1.25 billion. The California startup already builds custom electric delivery vans for Amazon and has a joint venture with Volkswagen to provide software and vehicle electrical architecture.