Rivian, the upstart maker of electric truck and sport-utility vehicles, sold out the Launch Edition of its new battery-electric truck, which is scheduled to appear next summer.
In a tweet, Rivian said, “Thank you to our community of pre–order holders for the support and excitement — launch edition reservations are now full. Early configuration continues for pre-order holders to build out Adventure and Explore packages. Public configuration access begins 11/23.”
The pre-order process began only a week ago, which meant Rivian succeeded in taking orders for hundreds of its Launch Edition vehicles in just a few days. GM also sold out the special edition of its new GMC Hummer EV with a price tag of more than $112,000 in a matter of a few days after its reveal in October.
(Rivian reveals price cut, takes orders for electric R1T pickup, R1S SUV.)
The company did not offer any information about how many of the “pre-order holders” have lined up for the new vehicles. But did offer it expects the first vehicle to roll off the new assembly line in Normal, Illinois, starting June 2021 and the initial build will take until the beginning of 2022.
Deliveries for the R1T, the Rivian pickup truck, start June 2021 and the SUV, the R1S, will begin August 2021. Canadian deliveries begin in November 2021, according to the company, which operates dual engineering and headquarters in California and Michigan as well as the manufacturing center in a factory that once belonged to Mitsubishi Motors in Illinois.
The base price for the battery-electric Rivian R1T Launch Edition is $75,000 and for R1S SUV is $77,500, according to posts on the Rivian website last week. There are plenty of options that can run the price up another $10,000 very quickly — simply adding the bigger battery will get you there.
(Tesla goes after EV rival Rivian in court.)
Anticipation of the Rivian launch with its off-road capability has been building for more than a year in the wake of the company’s long incubation, which stretches back more than a decade to 2009 during the crash of the automotive industry that was one of the hallmarks of the Great Recession. However, Rivian now has partnerships and investments from Amazon and Ford Motor Co.
The first batch of vehicles, which are expected to number in the hundreds, will have a range of 300 miles and will carry special badging and an optional “Launch Green” color.
The new configurator that opened this week allows those willing to put down a deposit to choose color, interior battery range, wheels and even add a camp kitchen. It also contains updates on new features, pricing and additional equipment. The company is taking orders for its other non-Launch models.
(Amazon shows off all-electric Rivian delivery van.)
Rivian is now entering a market that is quickly getting crowded. The R1T will face off with the new Cybertruck which, Tesla says, will start as low as $39,900. It’s still a bit early to make an apples-to-apples comparison on pricing based on features, however, and potential buyers need to factor in the $7,500 federal tax credits available on the Rivian truck. Tesla hit a sales threshold in late 2018 that has eliminated the incentives on its products.