The Rivian R1T hit the scene in 2021 as America’s first modern electric pickup truck—and a very impressive one at that. Now the California-based auto startup is laser-focused on its second act, a more affordable R2 crossover that should unlock a vast new customer base. But does that mean Rivian is done with pickups?
During an interview on the Plugged-In Podcast this week, I asked Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe: Does Rivian plan to make a smaller pickup truck based around the R2 platform? He didn’t commit to the idea but didn’t rule it out either, saying that there may be many different versions of the R2 down the line.
“I mean, we haven’t announced anything, but… it doesn’t take a huge amount of imagination to think of, like, if there’s R2 what are the other R2 variants?” he said. “And we sort of hinted at that with R3, where we did an R3X. You could imagine X versions, you can imagine other versions.”
When Rivian unveiled the R2, a baby version of its R1S SUV, it also trotted out the R3X in a surprise “one more thing” moment. The R3X is a souped-up, rally-inspired version of the small R3 hatchback set to arrive sometime after the R2 launches in 2026. Scaringe’s comments suggest that we could see an X version of the R2, along with other variants—like maybe an R2T.
Thus far, electric pickup trucks from Rivian, Ford and General Motors have been large and expensive, leaving a wide opening to any automaker that can deliver a more compact, cheaper option. A few of those are on the way. A theoretical R2T might compete with the debut model out of Slate Auto, another American EV startup, and with Ford’s upcoming $30,000 pickup.
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But for now Rivian’s mission is getting the R2 crossover off the ground. That, as Scaringe explained in our wide-ranging interview, is “critical” for growing Rivian’s business and unlocking economies of scale.
“But, as I described it before, the focus of the business is on R2,” he said. “It’s, we think, the biggest segment. It’s the most broadly appealing. And it’s the one that for us will represent the vast majority of our production of R2 products in the short term.”
The R2 is Rivian’s next act, and its CEO said other versions could be in store.
That doesn’t mean Rivian isn’t thinking at all about what’s coming down the pike, though.
Scaringe told us that the company is in the early stages of deciding what the R4 and R5 will be. He declined to elaborate on exactly what’s in store and said those models are “very much conceptual” right now. But he did say they will be “siblings” that share a platform like the R2 and R3—but at a lower cost.
Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
