fyton2v
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https://www.wsj.com/lifestyle/cars/rivians-delivery-van-not-just-for-bezos-anymore-038f0260
You may hit a paywall so here's the text.
YOU KNOW the one. Big, boxy, blue? With soft, sad eyes that say, Please don’t ticket me, officer?
In 2019, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos placed a $7 billion order with EV startup Rivian for a fleet of 100,000 electric delivery vans by the end of this decade. Rivian has since shipped more than 10,000 of these winsome route-runners to all parts of the U.S. Albeit on any given weekday about half seem to be in lower Manhattan.
Now that the assembly lines in Normal, Ill., are up and running, Rivian is offering a Bezos-free version to smaller fleet operators. Meet the Rivian Delivery 500, an all-electric, last-mile solution for the wholesale florist in us all. Or is that just me?
It’s possible this isn’t the Rivian you wanted to read about. Two weeks ago, the company premiered its new R2 and R3 (midsize and compact SUVs, respectively), which look amazing. At the time of my visit to the regional office in Torrance, Calif., last month, those models were still under wraps.
If it helps, the Delivery 500 uses some of the same components and software as the R2 and R3, which are likewise shared with the company’s charismatic sport pickup (RT1) and SUV (RS1). Note that the delivery van is front-drive only, with a single 320-hp motor between the wheels. A 100-kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery pack offers a rated range of 161 miles and top speed limited to 77 mph. The throttle mapping, torque output and regenerative braking are tailored to stop-and-go drudgery.
The Delivery 500 also reiterates many of Rivian’s passenger-car features and functions, including the driver interface and mainscreen graphics. The van self-identifies as a Rivian, with the company badge taking the place of the Amazon logo on the front. However, the beamish, droid-like headlights are the same. Who’s a cute bot? You are!
The back-and-forth over vehicle electrification is often so drearily polarizing and zero-sum. But given a chance, most EV skeptics would readily acknowledge that for certain use cases and duty cycles, electrification makes sense; these include fleet vehicles with planned routes and low daily miles, making frequent stops (optimal for regenerative braking), with overnight charging at depots.
Commercial fleet operators—long and short-haul, light and heavy—are getting crushed by the soaring costs of diesel fuel, taxes and maintenance. A 2023 analysis by McKinsey & Company found that battery-electrics in the light commercial vehicle category offered 13% lower total cost of ownership per mile than conventional vans. The same study, modeling a very Amazon-like parcel delivery company, concluded that switching to an all-electric ground fleet by 2035 would cut costs by 22%.
Every time I test a full-size commercial van—examples include Ram ProMaster and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, both of which have EV versions already in the field—I fantasize about the other professions, the other lives I could live with it: sailmaker, big-wave photographer, rave DJ, freelance astronomer.
With a payload capacity of 2,734 pounds and 487 cubic feet capacity, the 500 would be just big enough for a hardtail vise, farrier’s cabinet, cutting torch and small electric forge (onboard 240V AC power is an option). I could be an itinerant blacksmith, driving around to local equestrian events, shoeing horses and chatting up spirited horsewomen.
Rivian has a longer version, the Delivery 700, which looks big enough for a liveaboard. Alas, the company has no plans to sell the vans to private, non-commercial customers. Nor does it plan to build a camper conversion, although they get that request all the time. Not just from me.
My test in the Torrance area included some trainee-style drills, demonstrating the Rivian’s many worker-friendly features. The driver’s door is to be used only rarely; in the interests of safety, workers leave the vehicle curbside, through the right-side sliding door. To reduce repetitive-motion injuries, the inner cargo door opens and closes automatically, when the driver leaves and returns to the wheel.
The heated steering wheel is flat-bottomed, making it easier to clear as drivers stand up and sit down. The pedestal-style seat is heated and ventilated and very well padded. It turns out workers whose backs aren’t killing them make better drivers.
Forward and downward visibility is expansive, thanks to the vast windshield and open roof pillars with triangular glass that wrap around the cabin like a diving mask. The high-resolution camera views on the touch screen, including 360-degree overhead view, also make maneuvering in tight areas much less fretful.
Light commercial vehicles are subject to surprisingly few federally mandated safety requirements. They have to have bumpers, for instance. Just for funsies, the Rivian driver’s door is surrounded by a D-ring of resilient high-strength steel to limit side-crash intrusion; this very sturdy hatch incorporates enormous side-impact air bags, also above the strict call of duty.
From behind the wheel, it seems like the Delivery 500’s quick reflexes and low-rpm torque—its ability to get out of its own and others’ way—offers drivers a margin of confidence that conventional vans just can’t. And it can idle forever.
At one point I was timing how fast I could deliver a parcel to the doorstep of a randomly selected home. I leapt from the driver’s seat, dove through the right-side door and ran for the house like a madman. As I set the invisible box by the door I saw a woman watching me through the curtains, who had almost certainly dialed 9 and 1 already.
I wanted to explain but I couldn’t stop. You know how Jeff is.
2024 Rivian Delivery 500
Base price: $83,000 (before applicable tax credits)
Propulsion: Battery-electric; single front-mounted AC synchronous motor and single gearset; 135-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack; front-wheel drive
Power/torque: 320 hp
Payload: 2,734 pounds
GVWR: 9,350 pounds
Top speed: 77 mph (software limited)
Range: 161 miles
Charging: J1772 and CCS1 combo charging, capable of charging speeds up to 100 kW
You may hit a paywall so here's the text.
YOU KNOW the one. Big, boxy, blue? With soft, sad eyes that say, Please don’t ticket me, officer?
In 2019, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos placed a $7 billion order with EV startup Rivian for a fleet of 100,000 electric delivery vans by the end of this decade. Rivian has since shipped more than 10,000 of these winsome route-runners to all parts of the U.S. Albeit on any given weekday about half seem to be in lower Manhattan.
Now that the assembly lines in Normal, Ill., are up and running, Rivian is offering a Bezos-free version to smaller fleet operators. Meet the Rivian Delivery 500, an all-electric, last-mile solution for the wholesale florist in us all. Or is that just me?
It’s possible this isn’t the Rivian you wanted to read about. Two weeks ago, the company premiered its new R2 and R3 (midsize and compact SUVs, respectively), which look amazing. At the time of my visit to the regional office in Torrance, Calif., last month, those models were still under wraps.
If it helps, the Delivery 500 uses some of the same components and software as the R2 and R3, which are likewise shared with the company’s charismatic sport pickup (RT1) and SUV (RS1). Note that the delivery van is front-drive only, with a single 320-hp motor between the wheels. A 100-kWh lithium-iron phosphate battery pack offers a rated range of 161 miles and top speed limited to 77 mph. The throttle mapping, torque output and regenerative braking are tailored to stop-and-go drudgery.
The Delivery 500 also reiterates many of Rivian’s passenger-car features and functions, including the driver interface and mainscreen graphics. The van self-identifies as a Rivian, with the company badge taking the place of the Amazon logo on the front. However, the beamish, droid-like headlights are the same. Who’s a cute bot? You are!
The back-and-forth over vehicle electrification is often so drearily polarizing and zero-sum. But given a chance, most EV skeptics would readily acknowledge that for certain use cases and duty cycles, electrification makes sense; these include fleet vehicles with planned routes and low daily miles, making frequent stops (optimal for regenerative braking), with overnight charging at depots.
Commercial fleet operators—long and short-haul, light and heavy—are getting crushed by the soaring costs of diesel fuel, taxes and maintenance. A 2023 analysis by McKinsey & Company found that battery-electrics in the light commercial vehicle category offered 13% lower total cost of ownership per mile than conventional vans. The same study, modeling a very Amazon-like parcel delivery company, concluded that switching to an all-electric ground fleet by 2035 would cut costs by 22%.
Every time I test a full-size commercial van—examples include Ram ProMaster and Mercedes-Benz Sprinter, both of which have EV versions already in the field—I fantasize about the other professions, the other lives I could live with it: sailmaker, big-wave photographer, rave DJ, freelance astronomer.
With a payload capacity of 2,734 pounds and 487 cubic feet capacity, the 500 would be just big enough for a hardtail vise, farrier’s cabinet, cutting torch and small electric forge (onboard 240V AC power is an option). I could be an itinerant blacksmith, driving around to local equestrian events, shoeing horses and chatting up spirited horsewomen.
Rivian has a longer version, the Delivery 700, which looks big enough for a liveaboard. Alas, the company has no plans to sell the vans to private, non-commercial customers. Nor does it plan to build a camper conversion, although they get that request all the time. Not just from me.
My test in the Torrance area included some trainee-style drills, demonstrating the Rivian’s many worker-friendly features. The driver’s door is to be used only rarely; in the interests of safety, workers leave the vehicle curbside, through the right-side sliding door. To reduce repetitive-motion injuries, the inner cargo door opens and closes automatically, when the driver leaves and returns to the wheel.
The heated steering wheel is flat-bottomed, making it easier to clear as drivers stand up and sit down. The pedestal-style seat is heated and ventilated and very well padded. It turns out workers whose backs aren’t killing them make better drivers.
Forward and downward visibility is expansive, thanks to the vast windshield and open roof pillars with triangular glass that wrap around the cabin like a diving mask. The high-resolution camera views on the touch screen, including 360-degree overhead view, also make maneuvering in tight areas much less fretful.
Light commercial vehicles are subject to surprisingly few federally mandated safety requirements. They have to have bumpers, for instance. Just for funsies, the Rivian driver’s door is surrounded by a D-ring of resilient high-strength steel to limit side-crash intrusion; this very sturdy hatch incorporates enormous side-impact air bags, also above the strict call of duty.
From behind the wheel, it seems like the Delivery 500’s quick reflexes and low-rpm torque—its ability to get out of its own and others’ way—offers drivers a margin of confidence that conventional vans just can’t. And it can idle forever.
At one point I was timing how fast I could deliver a parcel to the doorstep of a randomly selected home. I leapt from the driver’s seat, dove through the right-side door and ran for the house like a madman. As I set the invisible box by the door I saw a woman watching me through the curtains, who had almost certainly dialed 9 and 1 already.
I wanted to explain but I couldn’t stop. You know how Jeff is.
2024 Rivian Delivery 500
Base price: $83,000 (before applicable tax credits)
Propulsion: Battery-electric; single front-mounted AC synchronous motor and single gearset; 135-kWh lithium iron phosphate (LFP) battery pack; front-wheel drive
Power/torque: 320 hp
Payload: 2,734 pounds
GVWR: 9,350 pounds
Top speed: 77 mph (software limited)
Range: 161 miles
Charging: J1772 and CCS1 combo charging, capable of charging speeds up to 100 kW
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