Cost was a reason for charge port location on R2 / R3 + other info in RJ interview with Electrek

[Electric Rivilution]

ARTICLE:
https://electrek.co/2024/03/08/rivi...-r2-nacs-mind-bending-r3-build-timeline-more/

Explanation of charge port location is at 6:15 in. Cost decision played into it. Less internal cabling required in the vehicle with the charge port in the back.

But the good news is! >>NACS extension cable is coming! ?

Sponsored

 

[srkz]

So put it on the driver's rear, where I can reach it when I get out of the car.

I step out of the driver's side and plug my vehicle in every. single. day. Often 2 or 3 times in a day (every time I park.) The R1 is convenient because the plug is just a single step away from the door. On the passenger rear means I have to park and then walk completely around literally the farthest possible distance to plug it in, not to mention anything about the disappointment of still not standardizing with NACS. Stupidest idea in the whole thing. Maybe California will regulate charge port location before 2026 and save us all.

Passenger side makes sense for Europe where everyone charges on the street, but the US has virtually no street charging because we don't need it - we have trillions of acres of free parking lots because god bless manifest destiny, so the North American charging standard should focus on driver convenience for North Americans.

 

[rbr19870445]

So put it on the driver's rear, where I can reach it when I get out of the car.

I step out of the driver's side and plug my vehicle in every. single. day. Often 2 or 3 times in a day (every time I park.) The R1 is convenient because the plug is just a single step away from the door. On the passenger rear means I have to park and then walk completely around literally the farthest possible distance to plug it in, not to mention anything about the disappointment of still not standardizing with NACS. Stupidest idea in the whole thing. Maybe California will regulate charge port location before 2026 and save us all.

Unless you have street side parking and are also charging, then the charge port location makes sense. I still think front driver side is the best location, towing and all.

BUT, more importantly, I do think there needs to be a rethink in how EVs charge via L3. The Tesla supercharger worked great when it was just Tesla but there are about to be a lot of angry folks with F150 lightnings and other manufacturers who made the daft decision to put the charging port inboard of the front axle.

 

[Trandall]

Rivian has not announced the pack voltage yet so RJ had to dodge the question.
I saw an article already that surmised from the R2 platform graphic and cell type that the pack voltage would be in the high 900V range making it a 1000V class EV. This will mean fast peak charging/discharging and a great charge curve and output power if Rivian can master thermal management.

 

[dleepnw]

its 5 extra steps, we'll live.

Rivian is working hard to keep costs down and get profitable while still trying to deliver a compelling product. im all for the change.

 

[srkz]

I saw an article already that surmised from the R2 platform graphic and cell type that the pack voltage would be in the high 900V range making it a 1000V class EV.

800V systems range from 600 to 900 volts depending on the state of charge. It's very unlikely they would venture outside the industry norm of 800V pack architecture given the need for matching DCFC infrastructure.

 

[Jason765]

I actually think passenger side rear is best and believe it's a great decision. There's plenty of people that don't adopt EVs because it's inconvenient to charge. Street charging is a viable option moving forward and with that, the passenger rear or front location is probably best

 

[SeaGeo]

Rivian has not announced the pack voltage yet so RJ had to dodge the question.
I saw an article already that surmised from the R2 platform graphic and cell type that the pack voltage would be in the high 900V range making it a 1000V class EV. This will mean fast peak charging/discharging and a great charge curve and output power if Rivian can master thermal management.

I took him as being pretty clear that it's 400v

 

[zapp]

Not talking about it keeps it open for now.
I assume that they need to stick to 400v as long as R1 is at 400v - to buy components in higher numbers and get better prices from their suppliers.
If they introduce the R2 with 800+V they'll move the whole portfolio up with R1 refresh before I guess.

 

[DuoRivian]

So put it on the driver's rear, where I can reach it when I get out of the car.

I step out of the driver's side and plug my vehicle in every. single. day. Often 2 or 3 times in a day (every time I park.) The R1 is convenient because the plug is just a single step away from the door. On the passenger rear means I have to park and then walk completely around literally the farthest possible distance to plug it in, not to mention anything about the disappointment of still not standardizing with NACS. Stupidest idea in the whole thing. Maybe California will regulate charge port location before 2026 and save us all.

Passenger side makes sense for Europe where everyone charges on the street, but the US has virtually no street charging because we don't need it - we have trillions of acres of free parking lots because god bless manifest destiny, so the North American charging standard should focus on driver convenience for North Americans.

California is not the bee all and end all and should not regulate for the rest of the country.

 

[Spaceball1]

Our EV6 is on the passenger rear. Not a big fan of that either as I agree it is not the most convenient. We replaced our Model Y with this so we have to walk across the rear of the car to plug it in. Luckily our garage isn't super tight length-wise for the EV6, but many people's are.

Not a deal-breaker but minor annoyance IMO. Really wish the industry could standardize this, but they never did for gas cars really so I guess I can't be surprised.

I agree the front is perfect for towing, but since the R2/R3 aren't likely to be towing much or often (compared to the R1), it shouldn't be a huge deal. Especially if the industry shifts to pull thru charging, which they should, to be a similar experience to gas stations.

 

[Surferdude]

I'm hoping they have an option for wireless charging. I would pay $1,000 for this plus the cost of the charging pad. Never having to plug my Rivian in would be a huge convenience factor especially because we plug our EVs in constantly as we have solar. Need to take advantage of those photons.

 

[Spaceball1]

I'm hoping they have an option for wireless charging. I would pay $1,000 for this plus the cost of the charging pad. Never having to plug my Rivian in would be a huge convenience factor especially because we plug our EVs in constantly as we have solar. Need to take advantage of those photons.

I haven't seen anyone have any luck developing an efficient wireless charging pad for cars (or anything really), so I doubt we will see that anytime soon. Would be cool, though.

 

[Surferdude]

I haven't seen anyone have any luck developing an efficient wireless charging pad for cars (or anything really), so I doubt we will see that anytime soon. Would be cool, though.

There are quite a few wireless charging options available today for purchase with similar charging efficiencies and speed of wired Level 2 chargers. Tesla late last year also announced a $76M investment in wireless charging so they will likely offer this option on their vehicles within the next couple years. The technology exists, they just need to implement it into their vehicles. The wireless receiving hardware that's installed on the vehicle is less than $100 cost so it should be a good upsell for EV manufacturers as people will be willing to pay many times more for such a convenience.

 

[Trandall]

800V systems range from 600 to 900 volts depending on the state of charge. It's very unlikely they would venture outside the industry norm of 800V pack architecture given the need for matching DCFC infrastructure.

Found the article again speculating on pack voltage.
https://www.motor1.com/news/711578/rivian-r2-battery-cells-details/
Really no reason to not use 976V peak. Provided the motors and inverters are made in house and not shared with the 428V peak R1 platform there is nothing preventing it.
Both CCS and NACS standards support charging at any voltage between around 200V and up to 1000V. I believe it's either Lucid or Taycan, possibly both, that use over 900V peak currently. Mercedes EQS is in the 600V peak range. It's not as if there are two specific voltages to choose from.
All that said R2 may well be something close to 400V we shall see soon enough.

Sponsored