R1T Dead Last in EV Pickup Sales

[Hereforthesnacks]

The Rivian brand is too good to collapse, if they don't make it long term financially on their own someone will surely pick them up at at discount and continue on with deeper pockets. They have overcome so many obstacles already, they have the Grit!

I agree. They have a product that can succeed with the right execution. Someone may pick them up. Hopefully they would keep the brand intact.

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[kvenom]

Rivian is basically dead up here. They won't eat the tariffs like Ford and GM so the pricing is ridiculous. No leasing up either, no gear shop etc... I was speaking with my local service rep (only 4 service centers in the country BTW) and he said its dead 3-4 days a week. He's hoping the R2 makes a difference, but also fears service will become a trainwreck once more people buy the more affordable model.

 

[Yossarian]

This just in from the meaningless statistics desk:
Ford, Chevy And Mercedes Still Can't Touch Rivian's Electric Van
electric-van-sales-us-q3-2025

 

[mkhuffman]

I know I have posted this before, but I never considered owning a pickup truck until the R1T came along. Now that I have it, I freaking love it.

I understand I am only one data point, but I am sure there are more like me. Rivian has grown the pickup truck market, not just taken market share from others. Maybe something similar will happen with the R2. People who never considered a BEV before will want one.

 

[Zoidz]

Congratulations on your Chevy? With all due respect, that EV is so ugly I wouldn't buy it even for half the price. Hell, if someone gave me any Chhhhhhevie I would sell it right back and use it as a down payment for something else. The longest range? You forgot to mention terrible efficiency, worst then the Elon trash can.

Beauty is in the eye of the beholder. There are plenty of customers that like the look of the GM EV trucks. I'm sure GM is not going out of business because you think it is ugly.

 

[bc81620]

I think everyone is forgetting that the R1's are "brand building vehicles." They are expensive, configured with nicer and more options than most of the other vehicles and it is a much younger company than any of its competitors (e.g.: Ford, Chevrolet, Tesla, etc.). Having the expectation that Rivian can produce, market, sell and service 250,000+ vehicles a year over the past few years is not realistic.

However, give them a few more years and Ford, Chevrolet, etc. should be worried. They don' have the capabilities regarding software defined vehicles.

I just don't think it is a 1:1 comparison between an R1T:Lightning, or R1S:X, etc. The vehicles and companies are far too different.

 

[UnsungZero_OldTimeAdMan]

Rivian is basically dead up here. They won't eat the tariffs like Ford and GM so the pricing is ridiculous. No leasing up either, no gear shop etc... I was speaking with my local service rep (only 4 service centers in the country BTW) and he said its dead 3-4 days a week. He's hoping the R2 makes a difference, but also fears service will become a trainwreck once more people buy the more affordable model.

Sucks for Canadian consumers but not significant impact on Rivian’s overall business. Majority of their market is domestic.

 

[skyguyscott]

Rivian as a company is facing many challenges to its long term survival, no doubt. But another way to look at this is that despite being a new and, frankly unknown company (only two people I have encountered so far knew of or had heard of Rivian) they were second only to Tesla in non-legacy manufacturers.

I had a different take on selecting Rivian. At first, when the Cybertruck came out, I was seriously considering it, but then with all the issues and Elon.... I did NOT really seriously consider any of the legacy auto-makers, despite their deeper pockets, more extensive networks and so on - why?

The legacy makers are ICE guys. They know ICE, they love ICE, they have a vested interest in ICE. They may even have guys working for them that would sabotage or knee-cap or at least delight in seeing BEV fail. On the other hand, Rivian is all-in. They have to make it work. True, Rivian lacks a service network convenient to most of the nation, but then, do you really think the techs at your local Ford dealership know how to work on a BEV better than Rivian techs? I foresee a lot of Lighting owners getting frustrated with the quality of service at their local dealerships.

Historically, odds are against Rivian and other new BEV companies, especially in the cutthroat auto industry, littered with the corpses of uncounted new contenders, and even storied older ones. Heck even Chrysler has had how many near death-experiences? You think Mazda is going to make it? Remember Pontiac? Studebaker? AMC? David does not always succeed with the sling, just ask Tucker and deLorean to name a few.

Frankly, in this current environment of US leadership sticking their heads in the sand, running backwards and espousing FUD, I would be surprised if any US-based automaker is competitive, let alone leading in the global market in another five years.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Rivian as a company is facing many challenges to its long term survival, no doubt. But another way to look at this is that despite being a new and, frankly unknown company (only two people I have encountered so far knew of or had heard of Rivian) they were second only to Tesla in non-legacy manufacturers.

I had a different take on selecting Rivian. At first, when the Cybertruck came out, I was seriously considering it, but then with all the issues and Elon.... I did NOT really seriously consider any of the legacy auto-makers, despite their deeper pockets, more extensive networks and so on - why?

The legacy makers are ICE guys. They know ICE, they love ICE, they have a vested interest in ICE. They may even have guys working for them that would sabotage or knee-cap or at least delight in seeing BEV fail. On the other hand, Rivian is all-in. They have to make it work. True, Rivian lacks a service network convenient to most of the nation, but then, do you really think the techs at your local Ford dealership know how to work on a BEV better than Rivian techs? I foresee a lot of Lighting owners getting frustrated with the quality of service at their local dealerships.

Historically, odds are against Rivian and other new BEV companies, especially in the cutthroat auto industry, littered with the corpses of uncounted new contenders, and even storied older ones. Heck even Chrysler has had how many near death-experiences? You think Mazda is going to make it? Remember Pontiac? Studebaker? AMC? David does not always succeed with the sling, just ask Tucker and deLorean to name a few.

Frankly, in this current environment of US leadership sticking their heads in the sand, running backwards and espousing FUD, I would be surprised if any US-based automaker is competitive, let alone leading in the global market in another five years.

The Ford service thing is an excellent point. There aren't that many qualified techs, and a lot of those that are leave the industry because of the way they are treated. I just read a story on Reddit the other day about a Lightning that received a warranty battery service 6 months ago. The service was done incorrectly and resulted in total battery failure due to water intrusion. Bad service can happen anywhere, and in the EV space, it's going to be more likely for a while, as they are new in general.

 

[gultin]

I know I have posted this before, but I never considered owning a pickup truck until the R1T came along. Now that I have it, I freaking love it.

I understand I am only one data point, but I am sure there are more like me. Rivian has grown the pickup truck market, not just taken market share from others. Maybe something similar will happen with the R2. People who never considered a BEV before will want one.

Ditto, first time truck owner here as well. I couldn't even cross shop vs anything else, since nothing else met my requirements of being able to fit comfortably in my garage, while also being able to carry 4x8 sheets, was electric (ie quiet and not smelly), a blast to drive and does great off road. Note how "electric" is somewhere in the list, not at the top. There's gotta be more people like us .

 

[Ilovejunebugs]

I know I have posted this before, but I never considered owning a pickup truck until the R1T came along. Now that I have it, I freaking love it.

I understand I am only one data point, but I am sure there are more like me. Rivian has grown the pickup truck market, not just taken market share from others. Maybe something similar will happen with the R2. People who never considered a BEV before will want one.

This is me! Now that I have a pickup I'm like why didn't I have one before?!? Oh yes -because no other pickup truck interested me! In fact I love it so much I don't want the R2 I have reserved, though thankfully my father in law needs a new smaller suv and wants electric and loves my truck, so he will get the r2.

 

[portdirect]

The Ford service thing is an excellent point. There aren't that many qualified techs, and a lot of those that are leave the industry because of the way they are treated. I just read a story on Reddit the other day about a Lightning that received a warranty battery service 6 months ago. The service was done incorrectly and resulted in total battery failure due to water intrusion. Bad service can happen anywhere, and in the EV space, it's going to be more likely for a while, as they are new in general.

Every MFR has bad days when it comes to service, I'd not regard Rivian as being industry leading in this space for excellence.

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Every MFR has bad days when it comes to service, I'd not regard Rivian as being industry leading in this space for excellence.

No, I don't suspect you would. In my experiences with service, they have been about as good as could be expected. I wouldn't consider them an industry leader either, as a new company building a service network while simultaneously working with entirely new models with unknown quirks and issues, I think they are doing pretty well. Except for your story, what you've gone through so far is inexcusable.

 

[portdirect]

No, I don't suspect you would. In my experiences with service, they have been about as good as could be expected. I wouldn't consider them an industry leader either, as a new company building a service network while simultaneously working with entirely new models with unknown quirks and issues, I think they are doing pretty well. Except for your story, what you've gone through so far is inexcusable.

Another trip to Normal about to kick off….

 

[Donald Stanfield]

Another trip to Normal about to kick off….

Here's hoping it's actually fixed this time.

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