Rivian will bring its rough and ready R1T electric ute and R1S electric SUV to Australia after a European launch in 2022, the company has said.
With a September launch in the US confirmed in a recent letter to reservation holders, reports also have the company looking at building a factory in the UK.
In an email response to local EV enthusiast Jay Hall, a representative of the company confirmed that with right-hand-drive requirements for the UK already underway, an Australian launch also makes sense.
But it did not mention a timeline.
“As of now, we only have plans for the US and Canada, with European preorders to open up sometime next year; this is not to say that we won’t open up orders to Australia eventually! (For what it’s worth, with our future entry to Europe requiring RHD configurations, that will be one less variable to worry about for you all!),” the company wrote.
Both Rivian CEO RJ Scaring and chief engineer of special projects Brian Gase have said they consider Australia an ideal future market for their all-electric off-roaders, so it is fairly certain that both vehicles will make it here at some point.
Rivian’s spokesperson agrees: “With all the country has to offer, I know that I personally would love to see folks hitting the road (or dirt, or mud) down under!”
With a timeline for an Australia launch still a mystery, however, Hall asked whether it would be possible to import a vehicle directly from Rivian and offered to give feedback on how it goes with Australian charging infrastructure.
The response hints at reports by news.com.au that Australian Remanufactured Vehicles (AusMV), which imports American-made utilities such as RAM and remanufactures them for the Australian market, would import Rivian’s vehicles may arrive here ahead of an official launch by the EV maker.
AusMV managing director Eddie Kocwa told The Driven AusMV has submitted its own pre-orders, and enquiries by The Driven to Rivian regarding a possible deal with the company were not responded to.
Rivian’s response to Hall however suggests that the EV maker will launch the vehicle here itself, in right-hand-drive format.
“While we definitely appreciate the offer to provide feedback on the R1T as it pertains to Australian infrastructure, it wouldn’t be possible to deliver any vehicles to Australia ahead of an official launch in your country itself,” Rivian’s spokesperson wrote.
Bridie Schmidt is associate editor for The Driven, sister site of Renew Economy. She has been writing about electric vehicles since 2018, and has a keen interest in the role that zero-emissions transport has to play in sustainability. She has participated in podcasts such as Download This Show with Marc Fennell and Shirtloads of Science with Karl Kruszelnicki and is co-organiser of the Northern Rivers Electric Vehicle Forum. Bridie also owns a Tesla Model Y and has it available for hire on evee.com.au.