It appears Rivian and Yakima have collaborated to build camping gear. It’s not surprising that Rivian, an EV automaker that tailors its image for adventure and outdoor lifestyles, is teaming up with Yakima, one of the most well-known outdoor companies in the country.
There haven’t been any official announcements from either company, but some photos that Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe posted on Twitter over the weekend might be proof enough. Scaringe is likely a very busy person and probably didn’t have a chance to take a camping trip, and instead camped with his family in front of their house over the past weekend.
Besides showing off an uncamouflaged Rivian R1T in El Cap Granite, the Rivian CEO also showcased a yellow rooftop tent with the brand Yakima x Rivian clearly labeled on it. Rooftop tents are found on top of SUVs much of the time but in this case, it’s mounted on top of the electric truck’s bed with what looks like crossbars you’d find on the roofs of vehicles. It’s likely that the tent or another version of it can be mounted on the truck’s or the R1S's roof.
Rooftop tents have been getting more popular, Rivian is just one of many automakers advertising trucks and SUVs with them. Rivian likes the outdoors and advertises to people that share this love, so this will probably be just one of many products we’ll see with the Yakima collaboration, and there’s a good chance the electric automaker with collaborate with another outdoor company.
Rivian isn’t the first electric automaker to collaborate with an outdoor company, Lordstown Motors and Camping World struck a deal that involves developing electrified trailers and campers, and servicing Lordstown electric trucks at Camping World locations. Airstream is currently developing an electric-assisted camper for EVs and is looking for technical partnerships.
The electric truck and SUV segment is quickly growing, it will be interesting to see how different automakers plan to create excitement for the product.
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Source: Electrek, via RJ Scaringe (Twitter)