Rivian has been one of the two prominent US-based EV companies over the last few years, but outside of North America, there have been few sightings of the brand’s products, particularly in Australia
Now, a Rivian R1S electric SUV has been spotted on the back of a truck in Sydney. The green example was spotted by Evans Electric, an EV enthusiast, and shared on X.
According to the shared post, the vehicle was seen on the M5 in Sydney
Spotted on the M5 in Sydney pic.twitter.com/vprnUZYSQ0
— Evans Electric (@tsport100) March 8, 2024
It’s unclear if this vehicle has been sent to Australia for testing purposes or promotional activities. It’s also difficult to spot if this is a right-hand-drive test build or the standard left-hand-drive vehicle, as sold in North America.
On the back of this sighting, local fans of Rivian and the EV community were excited to see it in the country, with one saying: “Whaaaaaaaa??? Serious! That’s thrilling news!”
“Nice spot. The rivian will do very well here”, another electric car fan mentioned.
R1S sold in the US with a starting price of $US74,900 or $A110,000. For this you get 434 km of EPA range. This range comes from a large 135 kWh battery pack.
The dual-motor drive train produces 392 kW and can help the R1S sprint from 0-100 km/h in under 5 seconds. That’s pretty impressive for a large 7-seater SUV.
The highriding model is part of Rivian’s R1 range which is built for “adventure”. The R1 range also includes the R1T, a large electric truck/ute.
Like Tesla, Rivian is also investing in fast-charging infrastructure in parts of the US but without the scale of Tesla’s supercharger network.
@RateYourCharge Charging my Rivian R1S at the Tesla Supercharger via the Magic Doc without issue. Getting 150kW constantly.
I am taking up more the one spot unfortunately to make the cable reach. 8/10 only because of the inconvenience I’m creating. pic.twitter.com/qr3an6WQIO
— Dustin Maschmeier (@supermasch) October 6, 2023
New Rivian vehicles in the US are also going to be equipped with Tesla’s NACS (North Amercian Charging Standard) port.
The new Rivian sighting comes only days after Rivian unveiled potential upcoming mass-market models – including the R3 – that could go into production in 2026.
The R1 series vehicles have been popular with private importers. They have been known to bring these models to various parts of the world, including here in Australia.
In recent times, MEVCO, a mining EV company had landed Rivian vehicles in WA.
FIRST LOOK: @MEVCO_official, a mining electric vehicle company based out of Australia, is purchasing @Rivian vehicles including R1T and Rivian Service Vans. Check out that awesome branding and color! pic.twitter.com/gQXaYnSyJd
— RivianTrackr (@RivianTrackr) February 5, 2024
With interest in EVs growing and the rise, it’s good to see a variety of vehicles increasing in Australia. We look forward to keeping an eye out for more unique EVs as they reach our shores.
Riz is the founder of carloop based in Melbourne, specialising in Australian EV data, insight reports and trends. He is a mechanical engineer who spent the first 7 years of his career building transport infrastructure before starting carloop. He has a passion for cars, particularly EVs and wants to help reduce transport emissions in Australia. He currently drives a red Tesla Model 3.