Rivian's Commercial Vehicle Lineup To Add Cargo And Work Vans: CEO

Rivian is also planning a family of smaller commercial vehicles, which could share some components with the upcoming R2 series of EVs.

By: Dan Mihalascu

Jul 25, 2022 at 1:16pm ET

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Last week, Rivian formally unveiled the large EDV-700 electric delivery van for Amazon and announced that the online retail giant's fleet has grown significantly since the first pre-production vans were delivered last year.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe spoke to Reuters ahead of the Amazon announcement and revealed that the startup plans a broader range of electric commercial vehicles in a variety of shapes and sizes.

The executive said "there will be a host of other applications in the commercial space" based on the so-called RCV platform currently utilized by the Amazon van.

"We're thinking about many other aspects of the commercial space outside of last-mile delivery (including) cargo and work vans. We've had a whole host of discussions with other customers."

RJ Scaringe did not identify or provide clues about the other potential customers for Rivian electric delivery vans.

Gallery: Amazon Electric Delivery Vehicle (Rivian Van)

In the interview, the executive said Rivian also is planning a family of smaller commercial vehicles, which could share some components with the company's upcoming R2 electric crossover, due to enter production in 2025 at the new $5 billion Georgia plant.

Scaringe said the series will be built on a new platform with "a smaller footprint, a smaller form factor" than the EDV-700 that's being built in Normal, Illinois and shipped to Amazon.

Commercial vehicles appear to play an important role in Rivian's plans to grow as a company. Scaringe said he still expects Rivian to be building 1 million EVs a year by 2030, and "a lot more than that as we get out into the 2030s."

"That's going to require multiple vehicles, different platforms and sizes. And ultimately multiple plants above and beyond what we have in Normal and what's been announced in Atlanta. There will be additional facilities that will allow us to go into these different markets and scale up."

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Rivian's current deal with Amazon is for 100,000 vans through 2025, with the EV maker only delivering a fraction of the massive order so far.

Despite being Rivian's largest shareholder, with a 20% stake, Amazon is not relying exclusively on the EV startup for the electrification of its delivery fleet. The company has existing deals with Stellantis and Mercedes-Benz for the Ram ProMaster EV and eVito and eSprinter vans, respectively.