Automologist MAC brings us news on the quietest electric car launch that was more a family affair…
Normally there would be huge fanfare around the launch of a new car, particularly from a new car manufacturer and especially when that vehicle is an Electric Vehicle. However, it would appear that Rivian seems to have ignored the hype playbook so loved by our old friend Elon Musk over at Tesla and is plotting their own path to immortality.
This week, surrounded by throngs of cheering workers and their families, the first truck painted in a strange bluish hue, the very first full production Rivian R1T pick-up truck rolled off the pristine assembly line in Normal, Illinois, and made its way to a paying customer. No biggie except Rivian is a Tesla-rivalling all-electric vehicle manufacturer that seems to have gotten their act together in double quick time and the event itself seemed to draw very little press coverage.
Rivian CEO, RJ Scaringe, has been trying to produce a car to rival Tesla’s small sports cars since 2011, but it was really just three short years ago that Rivian burst onto the public scene with backing from Ford and Amazon. Since announcing it to the world at the 2018 LA Auto Show, they have managed to finalise their designs, fit out an old Mitsubishi plant, get themselves billions of dollars in backing from Ford and Amazon and achieved an EPA range estimate of 500 kilometres with their midsized battery packs.
It is a sleek-looking design but more than that, Rivian has been able to steal a march on all the others, particularly Tesla, which still do not have a full-sized pick-up in their range. Starting with a pick-up may seem odd, but in the good old U.S. of Americaland, pick-ups and SUVs occupy the top seven spots in national vehicle sales.
I like it!
So what next for Rivian? Probably later in the year, there will be an IPO with an estimated value of about 80 billion dollars. I doubt if we will see any of these over our side of the pond anytime soon though.
And also as an SUV…….