California-based EV manufacturer Rivian, maker of two of the most anticipated electric vehicles – the R1T electric pickup truck and R1S electric SUV – has announced a new dual-motor all-wheel-drive option but also forced configuration changes that will cost reservation holders upwards of $US12,000.
The reasons behind the price changes have been cited as due to higher component costs and ongoing supply chain challenges, but word is that the price hike is resulting in mass-cancellations of orders.
An informal poll conducted on the Rivian owners forum suggests that as many as 60% of forum members will no longer buy a Rivian.
Electric vehicle industry watcher Sawyer Merritt shared similar news on Twitter, adding that many reservation holders have told him they will cancel their orders also.
In addition to that, about 100 Rivian reservations holders reached out to me since yesterday to tell me they have canceled/are canceling their orders.
They all love the product, but can’t justify spending up to $20k more for their specs they reserved a while ago.
— Sawyer Merritt 📈🚀 (@SawyerMerritt) March 2, 2022
The forced price hikes will prove tough going for Rivian, which made headlines in November when it began trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange and closed its opening day as the sixth most valuable carmaker with a valuation just shy of $US100 billion, has since been plagued by production delays that have caused a 60 per cent slump in its stock.
When Rivian first debuted the R1T and R1S back in 2018 it priced the vehicles starting at $US69,000 before incentives. But after Tesla announced the Cybertruck, boasting similar specifications, Rivian then promised in 2020 that the R1T would start at $67,500 for the basic “Explore” version while the Launch Edition would start at $75,000.
In an email to customers this week, Rivian has been forced to once again modify its pricing:
“Vehicle base pricing and the cost of certain options, upgrades and accessories have increased. On R1T Adventure and Explore packages, the tonneau cover is now a selectable upgrade,” it said.
“We’re in the process of updating your Rivian Account page to reflect these adjustments and we will send you an email notification when the update is complete. Until then, all product and pricing updates can be viewed in our configurator.”
Rivian has introduced a dual-motor option for the R1T and R1S, tbut he quad-motor option is the only model actually in production, and it has become $US6,000 more expensive.
Similarly, Rivian has made the standard 260+ miles battery pack unavailable with the quad motor option, adding yet another $6,000 onto the cost for reservation holders who are not benefiting from any previous lock-in price.
Thus, according to Rivian’s configurator, the dual-motor all-wheel-drive Explore R1T now starts at $67,500, whereas the quad-motor all-wheel-drive Explore R1T has had its price bumped up to $79,500 for the Large battery pack, with 314 miles of range, or $89,500 for the Max battery pack with 400+ miles of range.
Similarly, the Adventure R1T starts at $73,000, but jumps quickly to $85,000 and then $95,000 with the same changes.
Meanwhile, the Rivian R1S electric SUV now starts at $72,500 for the base, dual-motor all-wheel-drive model, while the quad-motor all-wheel-drive model jumps immediately to $84,500, while the top of the range R1S Adventure jumps up to $90,000.
In a comment to Electrek, Jiten Behl, Rivian’s chief growth officer, cited pressures from higher component costs, and unprecedented supply chain shortages.
“This decision will allow us to continue to offer competitive products that maintain the high standard of quality, performance and capabilities that our customers expect and deserve from Rivian,” he was quoted as saying.