Page 28 - Motor Trend (April 2020)

NEWS I OPINION I GOSSIP I STUFF
Interview
Robert “RJ” Scaringe
ivian, an electric vehicle startup,
R already has more than 1,800
employees (with 1,000 being
added this year) and has raised $3.5
billion to build the R1T electric pickup
truck and R1S three-row electric SUV at a
mothballed Mitsubishi plant in Normal,
Illinois. Rivian will also build an electric
SUV for Ford and fulfill a contract for
100,000 electric commercial delivery vans
for Amazon Prime. Rivian is led by CEO
RJ Scaringe, who splits his time between
operations in Michigan, California, and
Illinois.
When do you start production? End of
this year, first truck then SUV. We will
build pilots in Q3, but the first delivered
pickup will be December, with the SUV
about three months later. There are
efforts to pull that forward, but we’re
being realistic.
How does the plant handle so many
different products of varying sizes? The
place was laid out to have a skateboard
line (the frame with batteries, suspension,
motors, brakes)—one line that does
Rivian vehicles, Amazon, and other
variants [such as the Ford SUV]. Batteries
come from another line and plug into the
skateboard. Then we have two [final trim]
lines: one for high-content Rivians and
one for low-content vehicles for Amazon.
Do you have any concerns about building
a Ford competitor to your own SUV? No
we don’t. We believe the broad-based
movement to electrification is good
for everyone. It helps infrastructure
challenges and awareness. The products
are set up in such a way that maybe there
is 5 percent overlap, but they are such
different market positions. The Rivian
brand is so focused on going after a
more adventure-oriented market that
we’ve left other markets untouched. The
ability for us to go in and touch other
markets through another brand is great.
What we’re doing with Amazon is a
perfect example. We’re able to play in the
commercial logistics space, but we’re not
doing it in a way that dilutes our brand.
28 MOTORTREND.COM APRIL 2020
As you add more Rivian vehicles, how will
you name them? It’s relatively simple. R1
refers to our R1 platform. Our next set
of products we’ll call R2. It’s a smaller
platform. We have a third R1 product that
we haven’t announced yet. And we have
two R2 products. We’re not going to be
saying much about R2 for a while. There’s
a lot of momentum on the program
internally, but we’re not showing it or
talking about it yet.
You will launch with Level 3 autonomy?
Rivian’s version of Level 3 operates under
a set of geofenced domains: On a highway
with limited access, you can remove
hands from steering wheel and eyes from
road and no longer be the redundant layer
For a more thorough overview of the Rivian
R1T electric pickup, check out page 60.
CEO, Rivian
in operating the vehicle. They can be on
their phone or reading a book. It requires
a robust set of sensors in the vehicle for
redundant sources of perception, so
multiple cameras, radar, ultrasonics for
close range, and two forward-facing lidars
so we don’t mistake a white truck for the
white sky, and everything is checking
itself. There will be a lower sensor set
version that provides Level 1+ or Level 2
features. That’s an option. We launch with
the full [Level 3] capability.
Will you have a dealer network or
direct sales like Tesla? It’s a direct sales
channel, so we’re not working with
dealers. Unfortunately, because of the
regulatory environment in the United
States, it creates a challenging situation
in states like Michigan or Texas. You can
view vehicles at Rivian locations, but the
purchase will have to take place in a state
that allows it.
And for service? We have a unique
opportunity because every vehicle we
sell will be smart. It will be connected;
it’ll have robust health diagnostics for
predictive maintenance and to assess
problems. If it can’t be fixed with remote
services, we’ll pick up the car and give
you a loaner or do the service on site. If it
needs significant work and it is in an area
that does not have a service station, that’s
where the partner networks that we’re
setting up will come into play.
Are your vehicles designed to be
retail passenger vehicles only or also
car-sharing fleets? For Rivian, everything
is for consumers to purchase, but over
time we will introduce various modes
of sharing. We’re creating subscription
models, but they work best once you have
all the infrastructure to support that—
whether it is service, retail, the logistics of
moving vehicles around. It also lends itself
to higher levels of autonomy.
Will there be Easter eggs in the Rivians for
customers to find, like Tesla has? Tons. I’m
working on them.
Alisa Priddle