A month ago, Rivian began pre-production of its first model, the R1T electric pick-up. This vehicle, whose arrival on the market will take place in June 2021, will become one of the main rivals of the Tesla Cybertruck, compared to which it will offer a more conventional aesthetic and a proposal in general lines more conservative.
Now, Rivian has released a video showing us all the progress made at its Normal (Illinois) factory on the road to serial production. However, there is still a long way to go: the factory, which in the past belonged to Mitsubishi, does not yet have a body manufacturing line, although its installation is expected to be completed in the fall.
To build the general assembly line, Rivian will need to install about 500 new robots. Initially, the Rivian R1T will be available with three battery packs, 105 kWh, 135 kWh, and 180 kWh. With each of them, the R1T should exceed 230 miles, 298 miles, and 397 miles of autonomy under the realistic EPA cycle. However, possibly before the start of its commercialization, Rivian updates these figures for more concrete ones.
One of the most exciting features of the Rivian R1T will be the use of four electric motors (one per wheel), which will give it outstanding off-road driving behavior. In terms of load, the model will be somewhat less ambitious, since it is estimated that it will reach 11 kW of power in alternating and 160 kW in continuous.
It was confirmed that the starting price of the R1T would be about $69,000 before aid; However, after Tesla announced that its Cybertruck would have much more competitive rates, Rivian decided to downgrade its model. However, until the moment of its launch, the pick-up’s final price will not be known.