The Rivian EDV (Electric Delivery Van) is an upcoming commercial delivery van that soon will be launched by Rivian as part of a massive fleet order from Amazon (placed in 2019).

Rivian underlines that the EDV is the world’s first long-range electric commercial step-in van. It was developed to achieve lower total cost of ownership and simultaneously be safe, comfortable and easy to operate.

According to the agreements, Rivian is expected to deliver 100,000 EDV for Amazon by the end of 2025, including the first 10,000 by the end of 2022.

Since the production is scheduled to begin in December 2021, we assume that the company must produce 10,000 units next year, and then the remaining 90,000 within three years. That's serious volume.

It's a very important deal for Rivian, which is expected to significantly contribute to the overall results:

"Our commercial vehicles will initially consist of EDVs, and we plan to deliver 100,000 EDVs to Amazon by 2025."

"In the near-term, however, we expect that a significant portion of our revenue will be from Amazon Logistics, Inc."

The Rivian EDV is the first commercial vehicle from Rivian and it will be based on the Rivian Commercial Vehicle (RCV) platform.

We belive that at a later point Rivian will sell commercial vehicles also for the general market, although the EDV’s design and styling is expected to remain exclusive to Amazon.

Gallery: Rivian-Amazon Delivery Van

Rivian EDV specs

Technically there will be a family of Rivian EDVs. The company has recently revealed three versions: EDV 500, EDV 700, EDV 900.

EDV 500, the first and smallest one, will be launched first in December 2021, while the EDV 700 will follow in early 2022, and EDC 900 at a later point.

"EDVs will be built in 500, 700, and 900 cubic feet sizes. The 500 and 700 are planned for launch in December 2021 and early 2022 respectively, and the 900 is planned thereafter."

According to the image attached to IPO filing, the range of EDV 500 and EDV 700 will be up to 150 miles (241 km), while the largest and heaviest EDV 900 will get up to 120 miles (193 km).

However, according to Rivian's internal testing, the EDV 700 is able to achieve 201 miles (323 km).

We have developed our battery module and pack from the ground up to deliver exceptional driving and charging performance. Our launch battery system produces 314 and 316 miles of range for the R1T and R1S, respectively, according to official EPA confirmatory testing, and 201 miles of range for the 700 cubic feet EDV based on internal testing.

Rivian EDV specs:

  • EDV 500 (December 2021)
    up to 150 miles (241 km) of range
    500 cubic feet of storage
    length of 248 in.
    wheelbase of 157 in.
    GVWR of 9,350 lbs.
  • EDV 700 (early 2022)
    up to 150 miles (241 km) of range
    201 miles (323 km) according to Rivian's internal testing
    660 cubic feet of storage
    length of 277 in.
    wheelbase of 187 in.
    GVWR of 9,350 lbs.
  • EDV 900 (after EDV 500 and EDV 700)
    up to 120 miles (193 km) of range
    840 cubic feet of storage
    length of 321 in.
    wheelbase of 205 in.
    GVWR of 14,000 lbs.
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NCA 2170-type cylindrical cells

The battery capacity of the EDVs remains undisclosed, but we believe that those are the same 2170-type cylindrical cells as in the case of the Rivian R1T/Rivian R1S.

This is how Rivian describes its battery system for the launch EVs:

"It packages high energy density 2170 form factor cylindrical lithium-ion cells into in-house designed modules. Each module contains two stacked layers of cells, separated by a cooling plate. This axial cooling configuration maximizes cell density within our modules. The modules are connected in series and packaged into the battery pack. All vehicles include an underbody shield designed to absorb and deflect force from impacts."

The cells are supplied by Samsung SDI and they are lithium-ion nickel-cobalt-aluminum chemistry (NCA cathode), usually very high-energy density. At a later point, Rivian might use other chemistries.

"Our battery development teams leverage a common architecture between vehicles that will initially consist of a lithium-ion nickel-cobalt-aluminum chemistry, and in the future may expand to include multiple cell chemistries, including a lower cost cell chemistry. We intend to optimize each battery system to address different market segments and maximize battery life and performance.

The company would like to take battery cell production in-house in the future and according to the IPO filing, is engaged in some next-generation chemistries that are not yet commercially viable:

"We rely on third-party suppliers to develop a number of emerging technologies for use in our products, including battery technology and the use of different battery cell chemistries. Certain of these technologies and chemistries are not today, and may not ever be, commercially viable"

Dual-motor front-wheel drive!

One of the biggest surprises is that the Rivian EDV is initially equipped with a dual-motor front-wheel drive configuration, directly borrowed from the R1T and R1S.

We would rather expect a less expensive single-motor solution or eventually a dual-motor system for all-wheel drive. Two motors and only front-wheel drive is overkill.

We guess that the decision to launch the EDV with such a configuration was made purely to reduce development time and simplify the initial manufacturing. In the longer term, the company will offer EDVs with single-motor front-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive, which sounds much more reasonable.

In general, Rivian EVs will be offered with 1-, 2-, 3- or 4- electric motors.

"Our industry-first quad-motor system, launching in our R1T and R1S, enables extremely precise performance and torque control in on- and off-road environments. Four independent motors work together to deliver over 800 horsepower and over 900 pound-feet of torque.

In the future, we intend to offer more drive system options, such as dual- or tri-motor all-wheel drive as well as higher performance quad-motor configurations.

The EDVs leverage the same electric drive system components as our R1 vehicles, launching with a dual-motor front-wheel drive configuration. We plan for our commercial vehicles to be configurable with single-motor front-wheel drive or dual-motor all-wheel drive."

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