Production began in September of the first Rivian model, the pick-up R1T, with very modest volumes. The company’s forecast was to start rolling out units of the SUV from the same platform, R1S, next December, and also at a modest volume. Something must have happened, because the first delivery dates have been delayed almost to spring, at the earliest.
Many customers who pre-reserved their unit long ago, starting in 2019, will wait two years (or three) to have their Rivian at their doorstep. You have received an email thanking you for your support and giving you a delivery window, that is, an approximate deadline or delivery window. Of all the RivianForums and RivianOwnersForum lists, no one declares a window prior to March-April 2022.
Thank you for your continued support of Rivian. We can’t wait to get you behind the wheel of your R1T / R1S. Now that production is accelerating at our Normal, Illinois, factory, and we’re building our customer service and service network, we can share an updated delivery window with you. “.
Deliveries are of the first units, Launch Edition, which were sold out within a week, a year ago, when pre-reservations were confirmed by customers. Then they were told that the R1Ts would begin to be delivered in June 2021. The first Rivian models were presented three years ago, at the 2018 Los Angeles Motor Show.
Several thousand customers who demand electric cars are seeing that the norm for some manufacturers is to see it in a photo, some time later to advance a symbolic amount of money, and receive it in one or two years, and that being one of the first. Before any journalist tests the car, before there are homologations, before the factories can do pre-series.
This is a very strong contrast to the traditional business model in the United States, where a customer approaches a dealership, chooses the options they want, and if there is stock in a lot (campa), delivery is practically immediate. The big ones produce in advance and sell later. The “little ones” in reverse, first ask for an advance / reservation and then deliveries come. Being a pioneer is not always easy.
The reasons for the delay can be diverse, although the most likely is the lack of components, a disease endemic to almost the entire automotive industry. For the same reason, the Tesla Cybertruck has been delayed to 2023. Rivian Automotive is the most valuable manufacturer in the United States with no profits, currently more than 100 billion dollars and with shares at 120 dollars. They hit $ 172 last week, after hitting the NASDAQ market at $ 78 apiece.
