US-based all-electric “adventure vehicle” manufacturer Rivian has named the dates for delivery of its R1T pick-up (ute) and R1S SUV, revealing them as June 2021 and August 2021, respectively.
The dates were revealed in an email sent to prospective US customers, offering the first firm idea of when the new EVs might arrive, and suggesting the timing had been pushed out more than the company had hoped.
The offering of a ball-park date coincides with the kick-off of Rivian’s pilot production line at its plant in Normal, Illinois – a crucial first step before launching into full commercial production.
“This week … the work of thousands of Rivian team members comes together as our pilot production line begins running,” the email said.
“This important milestone brings us another step closer to our full production launch. It also allows us to more precisely estimate delivery timing.”
Rivian’s R1S and R1T are both geared at the utility/adventurous outdoor driving market, where they will contend with the upcoming Cybertruck offering from Tesla and the Ford F-150 EV, among others.
Both the Rivian utility and the SUV promise to deliver more than 400 miles (640km) of range on a single charge in their top-of-the-line models. The R1T will start at $US69,000 ($A97,000), and the R1S at $US72,500 ($A101,000).
Rivian has also committed to make 100,000 electric vans for online retail giant, Amazon, and says it is still on track to have the first of this number ready to deliver in early 2021. About 10,000 of these electric vans are slated to be on the road as early as 2022, and all 100,000 vehicles by 2030, Amazon has previously said.
The firmed-up R1S and R1T delivery dates and progress at the Illinois factory follow Rivian’s successful investment round earlier this month, which raised $US2.5 billion ($A3.6 billion) in capital for the company.
Participants in the investment round included existing shareholder Amazon, along with Soros Fund Management, Coatue, Fidelity Management and Research Company, and Baron Capital Group.
Funds managed by investment giant BlackRock also joined in the investment round, expanding its shareholdings in Rivian.
“We are focused on the launch of our R1T, R1S and Amazon delivery vehicles,” Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe said at the time.
“With all three launches occurring in 2021, our teams are working hard to ensure our vehicles, supply chain and production systems are ready for a robust production ramp up. We are grateful for the strong investor support that helps enable us to focus on the execution of our products.”
Sophie is editor of One Step Off The Grid and deputy editor of its sister site, Renew Economy. Sophie has been writing about clean energy for more than a decade.