Rivian Was The Second Best-Selling EV Brand In Q3 2026, But Still Far Behind Tesla

Move over Chevy, there's a new second-place in town.

2027 Rivian R2: First Drive On- and Off-Road

Photo by: Mack Hogan/InsideEVs

Nico DeMattia

By: Nico DeMattia

Oct 21, at 2:48pm ET

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Tesla is still the best-selling EV brand in America and there isn't a close second. However, there is a new second place contender, and it's Rivian. Chevy was the runner-up brand behind Tesla this time last year, but now that the Rivian R2 has been on sale for long enough, it's helped propel the brand past the American giant.

According to data from Cox Automotive, Rivian sold 19,239 vehicles in Q3 2026, putting in firmly in second place on the EV sales podium for a brand. (General Motors as an overall automaker still outsells Rivian in EVs.) That's a 45.7% increase, year-over-year, for Rivian, proving just how important the R2 is for the lineup. Right behind it was Toyota, with 12,904 sales, and surprisingly Cadillac behind Toyota, with 12,358 sales. No one comes even close to Tesla, though, which sold 144,094 cars last quarter.

What's ironic about the R2 boosting Rivian's sales to second place is that it wasn't even the best-selling Rivian of the quarter. If you count passenger cars, the R1T still outsold the R2 by a hefty margin, 5,852 sales versus 3,456. The vast majority of Rivian's Q3 sales came from the EDV500/700, which is a commercial fleet vehicle. It's one of the few commercial vehicles on the list, but it's by far the most successful, partly thanks to Rivian's Amazon contract.

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Tesla seems unreachable at this point, though. Its second-best selling car, the Model 3, by itself sold more than the total number of EVs Rivian and Toyota sold combined, with 40,346 sales. The Model Y was Tesla's most popular car, finding 99,037 homes. But now that there are some highly competitive cars in the Model Y's space, like the new Rivian R2 and BMW iX3, that market should get more competitive.

There's still no question that the Rivian R2 is a massive help for the brand, even if it wasn't Rivian's best-seller last quarter. And it's only getting started. Once more customers learn about the R2 and its competitive pricing, it will only get more popular. Its only real barrier for most people will be its range, which falls behind that of the Model Y for the most part. But it makes up for that with character, off-road capability, and increased practicality. So the R2, with its lower price and improved tech, has a good chance of becoming Rivian's best-selling car and what helps the brand inch close and close to Tesla.

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