The Rivian R3X Will Be Subsequent To Arrive After The R2: CEO

You liked the Rivian R3X, proper? In fact you probably did—you will have two eyes and a coronary heart, do not you? Rivian’s upcoming compact efficiency crossover, impressed by basic Nineteen Eighties sizzling hatchbacks and rally vehicles, broke the web when it made its shock debut earlier this 12 months. In fact, it is sadly years away from being launched. However now we now have extra details about the place the R3X will stand in Rivian’s new pecking order.

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe supplied up new particulars concerning the R3X in a wide-ranging interview with The Verge’s Editor-in-Chief Nilay Patel for the latter’s Decoder podcast. That podcast is completely price a hear in full, as is studying the transcript if that is extra your jam; it is one of many extra intensive interviews Scaringe has accomplished as of late on the heels of some developments which have made 2024 Rivian’s most promising 12 months up to now.

Rivian, as you might know, is extraordinarily sizzling proper now. The up to date R1S and R1T are on sale now with important enhancements below the pores and skin that might make them worthwhile electrical fashions by the tip of this 12 months. The R1S is now one of many top-selling EVs within the nation, and the bestselling premium automobile EV and the best-selling giant SUV (agnostic of what powers it) in California. The startup acquired appreciable hype for its new R2 and R3 fashions, and that solely skyrocketed when it introduced a brand new partnership to develop electrical architectures with Volkswagen. 

So this Decoder podcast is a must-listen, as a result of Scaringe tells us a variety of issues we hadn’t heard earlier than. Particularly of word is the truth that after the R2 is launched within the first half of 2026 (if all goes in line with plan, after all) the R3X will come subsequent. No strong date but, however we do get some new particulars.

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“It’s in all probability the automobile that we get essentially the most questions on, and I imply the packaging on it’s simply distinctive,” Scaringe mentioned. “As quickly as we probably can, however we’re not giving a date. So, what we’re doing with this new platform is we’re launching R2 first, permitting a while to get that secure, after which launching R3. I’ll say this: The primary R3 that we’re launching, it’s going to begin with R3X, after which we’ll usher in base R3 after R3X.” 

He added, “All of us need so dangerous [to] get the R3X in as quickly as potential,” indicating the individuals within the firm share the joy over the mannequin. No specs have been launched both, however we all know it’s going to use the R2’s new lower-cost platform; provide a tri-motor configuration normal; and may pack a minimum of 300 miles of vary and a Tesla-style NACS plug from the manufacturing facility. And with three electrical motors and extra floor clearance than the R3, it must be an unimaginable efficiency machine. 

Scaringe additionally elaborated on how the Volkswagen three way partnership will work. Whereas some particulars of that association stay to be seen, however Rivian is getting as much as $5 billion to assist Volkswagen get previous its longtime struggles with software program and electrical architectures. (It is doing an identical partnership with XPeng for EVs in China.) 

“What we’re offering is that structure,” Scaringe mentioned. “We’ll present the topology of the ECUs, together with the bottom working system. That’s each for the infotainment platform, but additionally for the real-time working system. There’s a number of completely different working methods we’ve constructed, after which every thing round over-the-air updates and connectivity.”

However overlook new VWs working similar to Rivians on the software program facet, and vice-versa. “What we gained’t be offering is our person interface,” Scaringe mentioned. “In all of the completely different merchandise this platform will go into, the person interface is definitely an abstraction on the prime of the stack. A automobile could have three screens, it might have two screens, it might have 10 screens. That’s comparatively easy to vary what the UI seems like, however every thing beneath shall be actually closely commonized utilizing our structure.”

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