Rivian is an American electric vehicle automaker and automotive technology company founded in 2009. Rivian is building an electric sport utility vehicle (SUV) and pickup truck on a “skateboard” platform that can support future vehicles or be adapted by other companies. These vehicles are designed for both on-road and off-road driving. An electric van is also being built, and all three vehicles are slated to be delivered to customers in 2021. The company plans to build an exclusive charging network in the United States.
The Rivian R1T pickup and R1S SUV share a skateboard platform, with dual motors – one on each axle – sending “up to” 550kW/1124Nm to all four-wheel. This allows the 0-100km/h sprint to be conquered in a claimed 3.0 seconds, on the way to an electronically-capped top speed of 200km/h.
Last month two pre-production examples of the vehicles were spotted at Sydney airport, likely for local hot weather testing.
The manufacturer has previously suggested it would like to offer its product range Down Under, however, this is yet to be confirmed.
The electric ute segment is tipped to grow substantially in the coming years – the first ‘Edition 1’ examples of the GMC Hummer EV are set to be produced within months, while Ford’s F-150 Lightning is set to arrive in US showrooms early next year. Tesla originally promised its Cybertruck would go on sale this year, however, last month Elon Musk pushed deliveries back to 2022 at the earliest.
The Rivian isn’t the first electric ute in the world, however, with models from GWM and LDV on sale in China, among others in various markets.
According to en.wikipedia; drive.com.au. Source of photos: internet
