Rivian unveils next-gen R1 EVs to chop value with out affecting driver expertise

Rivian has unveiled its next-generation R1S and R1T electrical automobiles to chop value with out affecting the driving force expertise negatively.

The truth is, the automaker is bettering it.

It’s no secret that Rivian wants to chop prices. The automaker is at present dropping about $36,000 on each car it delivers.

The corporate has guided turning that right into a barely constructive gross margin in This fall, which is coming quick.

Rivian has been approaching this subject from many alternative angles, together with renegotiating with suppliers, however the greatest influence is anticipated to return with this redesigned next-gen model of the R1 platform.

Subsequent-Gen Rivian R1

As we speak, Rivian is formally unveiling and beginning deliveries of the next-gen R1S and R1T.

From a design perspective, the automobiles are pretty comparable, with largely just a few new design accents, like lovely new plaid accents all through the automobiles, up to date back and front lighting, and lots of UI adjustments.

Nevertheless, the majority of the replace is beneath the hood, so to talk.

Rivian targeted on updating {hardware} for effectivity, manufacturability, and value. Listed below are just a few examples:

The corporate up to date its battery module. Right here’s the primary era versus the second:

The brand new module design, together with the electronics system, have been up to date for higher effectivity and simpler manufacturability.

Rivian commented:

New Massive and Max battery packs have redesigned modules and extra environment friendly packaging, making them simpler to fabricate and repair, whereas providing as much as an estimated 420 miles of vary. 

The corporate additionally has a brand new module design for its Normal pack that now permits the usage of LFP battery cells. Rivian is speaking about an EPA-estimated 270 miles of vary for this new pack.

Rivian additionally up to date its drive items:

The corporate introduced extra motor design and manufacturing in-house, permitting for a extra environment friendly packaging and implementation in its automobiles.

Rivian wrote about its new drive items:

The brand new R1 platform affords extra energy, efficiency, and vary, because of a Rivian-designed and constructed drive unit supplied in Tri-Motor and Quad-Motor configurations. The 1,025 horsepower Quad-Motor R1T delivers 0-60 mph in lower than 2.5 seconds and a staggering 1,198lb ft of torque when utilizing Launch Mode.A Rivian-built Twin-Motor is obtainable as properly. These motors are actually designed, engineered, and manufactured totally in-house.

These new motors and batteries enabled an insane 2.5 seconds 0-60 time for the R1T quad motor. I managed to do a 2.7 seconds run on a drag strip final week, however some folks have been in a position to get 2.5:

Both method, it’s insane for a pickup truck and sufficient to snap your neck again.

The place Rivian made a few of the greatest enhancements are in its electrical structure and compute platform.

The corporate went from 17 ECUs present in first-generation automobiles all the way down to 7 on this new one.

The brand new structure allowed Rivian to take away 1.6 miles (2.6km) of wiring from every car. For instance, the automaker was in a position to remove this whole harness:

I lifted that factor up, and it was heavy. That’s nice for the effectivity of the car, but it surely additionally enabled Rivian to remove quite a lot of steps in its manufacturing, which ought to enhance its manufacturing prices vastly.

A concern that I had with this next-gen platform from Rivian is that since cost-cutting was a precedence, I assumed it would lose a few of its premia, however that’s not the case.

For instance, the automaker vastly improved its ADAS {hardware} suite within the second-generation Rivian R1:

We’re speaking about 8 instances the quantity of megapixels within the cameras throughout the automobiles and Rivian determined to not go vision-only. The automaker additionally has 5 radars and ultrasonics throughout the car.

Rivian additionally has a brand new on-board pc to deal with all the info coming from these sensors:

The automaker plans to launch more and more extra superior driver-assist options, beginning with autonomous lane adjustments, but it surely expects that its {hardware} suite will allow as much as stage 3 autonomous driving sooner or later.

One of many uncommon design adjustments to the next-generation R1 is the lighting system. For instance, the automaker up to date its lighting to speak the charging state with this new design:

There are additionally just a few new colours, each inside and out of doors, and Rivian just isn’t slicing down on its premium really feel there, which is nice information.

The UI and software program have been vastly up to date with the brand new era. Right here’s a listing of a few of the new options:

• Automotive keys in Apple Pockets on iPhone and Apple Watch, and a few Google Pixel units
• Join+, a brand new subscription service, helps streaming video by Google Solid and gives entry to greater than 3,000 apps
• Apple Music with Dolby Atmos assist in Join+

The brand new second-gen R1S will begin at $75,900, and the brand new R1T will begin at $69,900. Costs go up pretty rapidly if you would like the larger battery packs and tri- or quad-motor powertrains. Rivian is already producing and delivering the brand new era.

Nevertheless, the larger query is how a lot it prices Rivian to construct them. We received’t have a whole reply on that for an additional few months.

Keep tuned for my first drive expertise within the second-generation R1S and R1T later at the moment.