The electric vehicle (EV) company Rivian has yet to turn a profit — not once since its inception in 2009. Even in the first quarter of this year, the company reported a net loss of $416 million, although it managed to post a consolidated gross profit of $119 million, helped heavily by its higher-margin software and services business.
It seems that for the company to turn a profit, it needs to shift from premium niche vehicles to mass-market scale, aggressive cost reductions, and high-margin software monetization. This strategy could help it compete with heavyweights in the American EV market like Tesla.
But the company might have a solution, and its survival could hinge on the release of the R2 vehicle. That's because the R2 cuts the bill of materials cost in half while opening Rivian to a significantly larger addressable market.
On June 9, a small group of early reservation holders will take delivery of their R2 SUVs. That same day, Rivian will start sending order invitations to the rest of its customers.
Image: Rivan
Founder and CEO RJ Scaringe admits how important this vehicle is to the company, calling it "maybe the most important thing we've launched to date."
The R2 performance trim, which arrives first, starts just under $60,000. A premium version priced at $53,990 will arrive later, while a standard rear-wheel-drive version starting at $48,490 is expected in 2027. Rivian has also teased a base model expected to start around $45,000 by late 2027.
Performance-wise, the R2 still leans heavily into Rivian’s adventurous branding. The Performance trim produces 656 horsepower, goes from zero to 60 mph in 3.6 seconds, includes all-wheel drive, and delivers an estimated 330 miles of range. Driving modes include Snow, Rally, and Soft Sand.
Not everyone gets to order on June 9; Rivian is sending invitations in batches. Your reservation timestamp and location matter most. Current R1 owners get priority, as do people nearing the end of a lease.
Talking about this release strategy, the company says, "We want to give everyone the most accurate picture of when they can order their R2... we're bringing a randomly selected group of reservation holders into early batches."
Once you order, expect to wait two to six weeks for delivery. The R2 will also be in Rivian Spaces showrooms on June 9 for test drives.
Behind the scenes, Rivian has spent months preparing its factory in Normal, Illinois, for large-scale R2 production. The company hopes to deliver as many as 25,000 R2 vehicles before the end of the year.
Rivian executives continue to emphasize the R2's importance to the company as a whole. "The R2's success is vital to Rivian's success," chief design officer Jeff Hammoud told Inc. magazine.
The timing may also work in Rivian’s favour. Rising gas prices, partly driven by tensions surrounding the Iran conflict, could renew consumer interest in EVs. At the same time, the R2 enters one of the most competitive corners of the American EV market, where it will go directly against the Tesla Model Y, still the country’s best-selling EV.
Rivian has been a low-volume automaker with expensive trucks; the R2 is its shot at the mainstream. Many EV startups have failed at this exact moment. June 9 won't just tell us about the R2; it'll tell us the next step in Rivian.
Ogbonda Chivumnovu
