Rivian delays supply of 400-mile R1T vehicles to 2023 | Engadget

Electric transport startup Rivian is delaying deliveries of its 400-mile R1T pickup truck to 2023. In an e-mail to clients obtained by , CEO RJ Scaringe mentioned the corporate is prioritizing the manufacturing of R1T automobiles outfitted with its “Large pack” battery. Once these orders are fulfilled, it would then flip its consideration to the extra reasonably priced “Explorer Package” trim and “Max pack” battery.

“In setting our delivery timing, we optimized our build sequence around the build combination that would support us ramping as quickly as possible and therefore have the largest possible positive climate impact,” RJ Scaringe writes within the e-mail. We’ve reached out to Rivian for extra data.

In the identical message, Scaringe notes Max battery variants account for roughly 20 p.c of the 71,000 R1T and R1S preorders the automaker has secured as of December fifteenth of this 12 months. That suggests the delay entails about 14,200 automobiles. Rivian is permitting individuals to alter their orders in the event that they need to get their R1T earlier. It additionally promised to share extra data on supply timings in early 2022.

Rivian has delayed deliveries of the R1T a number of occasions over the previous few years. The truck was initially scheduled to debut in 2020, however the firm finally pushed that date again to . The pandemic and have performed a component in that, however Rivian additionally doesn’t have a whole lot of manufacturing capability for the time being. It plans to interrupt floor on a brand new manufacturing unit in . However, that gained’t be full till someday in 2024. In the meantime, the corporate additionally has a order it wants to satisfy for minority proprietor Amazon.