Price Increase for Preorder Holders?

[Rivian_Hugh_III]

At some point Rivian will certainly raise their prices.

My instinct is they will not raise prices on preorder holders unless we change our configurations after some date certain.

In this scenario we would receive an email from Rivian saying that future configuration changes will factor in up-to-date costs, but current configurations will not see pricing changes.

Thus, leave your configuration as-is or pay 2022 prices.

This makes sense to me, except I don’t think we’d get a warning. Or rather, we have gotten a warning: Rivian says in early 2022 our preorder page will be updated to show our delivery window. That’s when I would expect such a change to go into effect.

If you had to immediately lock in your configuration to lock in prices, how confident would you be in your choices?

I preordered four months ago and I still change my configuration every week. Until I see these trucks in person I don’t expect to be able to make a firm decision on color or interior.

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[fotoflux]

We'll see if they follow Tesla's path. They seem to force order holders to pay whatever price is advertised at time of purchase, not at time deposit is made. I hope they don't. But as long as it's less than a few thousand more, I'll probably still pony up the dough in 2023.

Inflation is a thing and I give Rivian credit for holding the line on prices so far given that they initially planned delivery 2 years ago, I think.

 

[slawwach]

Inflation is a thing and I give Rivian credit for holding the line on prices so far given that they initially planned delivery 2 years ago, I think.

I think they didn't raise the prices yet, because they're just not selling many vehicles at this point. Not much to win.
I expect they will raise the price before they will start delivering in higher volumes.

 

[Rhidan]

They might not raise prices until the R2 vehicles are announced, or at least not raise prices on those who have already preordered. Rivian will likely lose money on every R1 vehicle they sell over the next couple years. The goal should be to build the brand, supply chain, and customer loyalty. They can worry about profitability in 3-5 years.

We’re all just speculating though. They also could increase prices on the options and upgrades (including the large pack) in an effort to keep the base price the “same.”

 

[SoCal Rob]

If you had to immediately lock in your configuration to lock in prices, how confident would you be in your choices?

I am very confident.

The only change I made to my configuration after initial selections were to the wheels on the day it was announced that R1S could be configured with the (previously R1T-only) 20” AT simpler-style wheels. I immediately changed from the R1S bright 20” AT to the 20” AT.

Well, there is one exception. If Rivian suddenly offered a full-size spare option for the R1S, via internal cargo storage or similar, that’s the only physical configuration change I could see myself making at this point. Heck, I’d even go for that (with additional cost) over the compact spare if they just stowed the tools where the compact spare goes, wrapped the full-size spare in plastic, and placed it in the cargo area. I can figure out how to keep the spare stowed from there. As it is, I anticipate leaving the compact spare and tools in the vehicle for on-road issues, and buying a full-size spare wheel+tire to take along only when going off-road.

 

[Taycanfrank]

I don't see any significant price increase for pre-order holders.

Rivian is trying to play the long game and while a price increase might net them some additional profits, the bad feelings it would generate would almost certainly dwarf them.

The reality is Rivian is well behind on their promises and has really struggled to communicate well with customers. They went from being ahead of their time with an electric truck/offroad focused SUV to being late to the market. By the time significant numbers of the R1T/R1S hit the road there will be a large number of competitors, direct or indirect, already on the road.

It's a real problem and suddenly raising prices could be catastrophic. While this forum is full of buzz for Rivian, other EV forums I frequent are just not as impressed (yet??)

 

[TXR1S]

If for nothing other than a datapoint, here is the response I got from Rivian on this today:

Question:

With this new delay for Explore Trim vehicles and Max Pack Vehicles, can you confirm current pricing will be maintained for all current preorders?

Answer:

Thank you for reaching out to Rivian. I understand that pricing on such a big investment can be a major concern. Just recently moving out on my own, budgeting has become a very big topic for me to focus on.

Until we get to the digital purchasing process, all pricing offered is just an estimate. The digital purchasing process is when all pricing is finalized, you'll be able to work directly with our financing team during this time and carefully review all information with them. If you’d like to review that agreement, you can find it here: http://rivian.com/legal. Good news, is you may also qualify for potential savings through federal and local incentives. Feel free to check out our vehicle and charging incentives on this page.

So far, the only change in price we've done is lower the starting price for Adventure package by making the off-road upgrade optional. We will notify you of any pricing updates to any part of your preferred configuration.

To bring added transparency and better understanding to delivery timing, in early 2022 we are introducing a new feature on your Rivian Account Page that will display your most current delivery timing estimate. Our goal is to give you accurate, up-to-date details about your specific preorder so you can better plan and stay informed.

I hope this helps and please reach out again if you have any more questions.

 

[NmbrsNvrLie]

Separate emails for each or both in 1?

Assuming you’re in Texas, what dates did you get?

 

[TXR1S]

Separate emails for each or both in 1?

Assuming you’re in Texas, what dates did you get?

I have 1 R1S and 1 R1T preorder, both under 1 email. Both 2021 preorders, Explore Trim, both 1H 2023 dates.

edit: my delivery windows came in 2 separate emails.

 

[Max]

If Rivian suddenly offered a full-size spare option for the R1S, via internal cargo storage or similar, that’s the only physical configuration change I could see myself making at this point. Heck, I’d even go for that (with additional cost) over the compact spare if they just stowed the tools where the compact spare goes, wrapped the full-size spare in plastic, and placed it in the cargo area. I can figure out how to keep the spare stowed from there. As it is, I anticipate leaving the compact spare and tools in the vehicle for on-road issues, and buying a full-size spare wheel+tire to take along only when going off-road.

I am getting road tire and still thinking like you do. When I am going on vacation 700 miles away, the last thing I want to do is loosing half my vacation looking for 21” tires. Off road without full size is even more of an uncomfortable thought.

Love to see your wheel / tire choice and setup when you do this.

 

[sub]

I don't think inflation or delays are reasonable excuses to raise the price for existing preorder holders.

If a company announces the price of a product that they know they will not deliver for several years they should be taking inflation into account when they set the price. It is not like inflation is a new concept. If Rivian were to say that they didn't realize inflation would happen between the time they announced the price and when they were able to fulfill the orders I would be very concerned about their ability to plan.

And while the delays and slow ramp up may have been unexpected to some preorder holders, it certainly shouldn't have been a surprize to Rivian. If they didn't realize that delays were likely when they were setting the price we should be very concerned. They might not have been able to predict the exact causes of the delays, but they should have known that the odds of everything going according to plan were exceedingly low. Delays should have been assumed when they set the price.

 

[Guy]

I don't think inflation or delays are reasonable excuses to raise the price for existing preorder holders.

If a company announces the price of a product that they know they will not deliver for several years they should be taking inflation into account when they set the price. It is not like inflation is a new concept. If Rivian were to say that they didn't realize inflation would happen between the time they announced the price and when they were able to fulfill the orders I would be very concerned about their ability to plan.

And while the delays and slow ramp up may have been unexpected to some preorder holders, it certainly shouldn't have been a surprize to Rivian. If they didn't realize that delays were likely when they were setting the price we should be very concerned. They might not have been able to predict the exact causes of the delays, but they should have known that the odds of everything going according to plan were exceedingly low. Delays should have been assumed when they set the price.

I agree in general with you but not many people expected 7% inflation, certainly not the Fed!

 

[Guy]

I don't see any significant price increase for pre-order holders.

Rivian is trying to play the long game and while a price increase might net them some additional profits, the bad feelings it would generate would almost certainly dwarf them.

The reality is Rivian is well behind on their promises and has really struggled to communicate well with customers. They went from being ahead of their time with an electric truck/offroad focused SUV to being late to the market. By the time significant numbers of the R1T/R1S hit the road there will be a large number of competitors, direct or indirect, already on the road.

It's a real problem and suddenly raising prices could be catastrophic. While this forum is full of buzz for Rivian, other EV forums I frequent are just not as impressed (yet??)

I think they are still ahead of the market. There is no real three row SUV in the market now or through to late 2023 (Lucid Gravity and the Kia 9) which will just be starting out. They will have delivered by then over 20k of the R S I expect. As for the trucks the Hummer is limited volume until late 2023 and the Lightening is also low volume so Rivian have a head start, but it is less than it once was for sure.

 

[Forager]

My crystal ball says no price increase on existing orders. Like previously stated, Rivian is in a growth phase, and investors are OK with losing billions of dollars a quarter so long as substantial growth occurs. Rivian needs to keep prices in check to attract new orders and convert existing ones while ramping up delivery to show increased revenue. Increasing prices will lower conversion rate and turn away new orders.

I also think there will be some leeway in changing configurations for a while. I have yet to see an R1 in person, whether at an event or just driving on the road, and I’m in Seattle where there are regularly sightings. At some point I think they will lock prices based on existing configurations, but it won’t create a lot of goodwill to lock those configurations when most buyers haven’t seen so much as a paint chip. Early adopters have to go on a limb for color choice and everything else, but why should someone not getting theirs until 2H 2023 be locked now?

 

[RideAlong]

It's just a deposit. No contractual agreed upon price was ever made. They will cost what they cost at time of delivery. No obligation to finalize the purchase when your actual vehicle is available for delivery. next!

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