Rivian CFO Confirms Substantial R1T and R1S Changes Coming in 2024

[CardiacR1S]

Decent article courtesy of autoevolution. Seems like some positive moves for long-term viability.
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Here are some highlights from Rivian CFO Claire McDonough:

The executive said the increased yearly production guidance of 52,000 vehicles in 2023 remains on track for completion, and that's mostly thanks to the relatively new Enduro motors. They're being installed on dual-motor R1-series vehicles and Amazon's EDV. The quad-motor R1T and R1S EVs are being shipped with Bosch's powertrain solution.

McDonough also reminded attendees that the company faced a chip shortage in 2022. The Enduro motors come with different and fewer semiconductors. As we reported previously, two companies manufacture them for Rivian. The brand learned a valuable lesson last year and is now making sure it won't have to deal with a similar shortage again.

The dual-motor R1T and R1S vehicles also help Rivian to reach profitability faster because production costs have dropped by about 25%. The EDV program, however, is doing even better. The new power units and the LFP batteries translated into a cost reduction of around 35%.

The CFO has also said the following:

• There's a backlog of R1S orders, which also happens to be the vehicle that brings the company higher profit margins;
• The R2-series EVs are expected to cost between $40,000 and $60,000;
• The EDVs are being exported to Europe;
• Rivian plans to send the R2-series over the pond;
• The brand has 40 service centers, and it'll add another 20 before the current year ends;
• There are 250 mobile service vans which deal with 50% of the repair requests;
• NEVI funding will help Rivian to continue expanding the high-power Rivian Adventure Network (RAN);
• There are 40 RANs active today with new leases on the way;
• The company is exploring introducing premium software options that might be subscriptions;
• Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) bring good profits, so the EV maker will focus on this, too.

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[Guy]

Thanks for posting. I count 30 service centers on their maps as of today. The one in Connecticut and the one by DC are ready so that gets closer to 40. I will be very happy if 20 more can open in the next 14 weeks - hopefully that means some of the nine planned for the northeast. The map shows about 30 still to open so 20 is a big chunk out of that.

 

[allisgoodman]

Advanced driver-assistance systems (ADAS) bring good profits, so the EV maker will focus on this, too.

Hope Rivian is not going to charge its consumers by providing the equivalent of Tesla free basic Autopilot.

 

[usofrob]

Also from the article:
Rivian "is moving onto a simpler network architecture that reduces the number of parts (mainly ECUs) needed by about 60%. That allows the brand to also shorten the wiring harnesses by around 25%."

This clearly coincides with the standard battery pack. I wonder if the changes will be applied to all battery options at that time, or if it's just going to be specific to the standard battery pack. What do you all think?

 

[SANZC02]

Also from the article:
Rivian "is moving onto a simpler network architecture that reduces the number of parts (mainly ECUs) needed by about 60%. That allows the brand to also shorten the wiring harnesses by around 25%."

This clearly coincides with the standard battery pack. I wonder if the changes will be applied to all battery options at that time, or if it's just going to be specific to the standard battery pack. What do you all think?

I think it is across the board, that was mentioned awhile ago in an RJ interview.

 

[usofrob]

I think it is across the board, that was mentioned awhile ago in an RJ interview.

I wonder if they'll try to get the NACS connector included at that point as well.

 

[swhme]

Give me an R1T rated for >500 miles of range for under $120k, then shut up and take my money!

increased range is the one thing that will get me to trade in my truck so I can go camping in more places

 

[biker1284]

Between talk of lower battery costs, lower costs for ecus, less wiring, and competition lowering costs... Maybe cost cuts could be on the horizon. However, they could just promote standard battery as the cheaper competitive option.

Downtime summer 2024, so there will be a 2024.5 model or maybe they just stock inventory prior then make these revisions the 25.

 

[mini2nut]

It will interesting to watch how the upcoming stainless steel clad 2024 Cybertruck will impact Rivian R1T sales.

 

[VSG]

Decent article courtesy of autoevolution. Seems like some positive moves for long-term viability.

Maybe provide a link, especially if you are going to post a copy of their content?

I don't see anything new here, and some of it is noticeably outdated - Rivian has had more than 40 RAN locations for many (4?) months, for example. Right now it's at 47 ...

EDIT: Yeah, it looks like this is likely taken from statements the CFO made in June, a lot of which we had already heard even then. Again, that's why it would be nice to have a link rather than simply presenting this stuff as new information. New to you isn't the same.

 

[R1Maybe]

I wonder how much other stuff might change with the 2024 downtime, especially given significant electronic changes. Better cameras? Better ADAS hardware? Quad enduro?

 

[MidnightRivian]

I wonder if they'll try to get the NACS connector included at that point as well.

NACS will be 2025 to make sure all pre-price hike customers have already been taken care of with CCS plugs.

NACS in 2025 will be a good feature / benefit to get existing Rivian customers to upgrade and hopefully get a heat pump upgrade at the same time.

I can see them changing to quad motor Enduro which will be slightly more efficient and better margins.

What would seal the deal and make people upgrade for sure is captain seats for 2nd row and little more legroom in third row.

Throw in a retractable shades and batteries that can regularly charge to 100% aka LFP.

You might just get a wave of new orders from existing customers.

 

[mrodriguez]

I sure hope WI is one of those 20 service centers coming before the end of the year. Not that I need it at the moment but it will be a lot more assuring with it being 15 minutes from my house than almost two hours with traffic to Chicago.

I also cannot wait to see the R2 and when it will go up for pre-order.

 

[VSG]

I wonder how much other stuff might change with the 2024 downtime

One of the main purposes of the downtime is to reconfigure the assembly lines to increase the number of R1 vs EDV. Right now the 150k plant capacity is split between 65k R1 and 85k EDV. After the reconfiguration it's going to be the other way around - 85k R1 and 65k EDV.

The other main purpose is to introduce manufacturing simplifications and efficiencies like the network architecture and the wiring harnesses. I don't get the impression that new features play any significant role in this. I'm sure there will be incidental tweaks, but those have been happening all along and they don't really need a line shutdown to introduce a better camera module or something else of that nature. Even something as major as a quad Enduro shouldn't need a big shutdown, because if they make such a thing it will be a drop-in replacement for the existing quad, just like the dual is a drop-in replacement for the existing quad.

Rivian doesn't need to add features to increase demand - they can sell all they can make for the next few years. What they need to do, and what they ARE doing, is working to lower costs and increase margins to stay on track for profitability. (While at the same time continuing to lay the groundwork for future growth.) Average sales price has increased significantly over the past year since the R1S started shipping and because the vast majority of price-protected orders have now been shipped. Average cost has dropped significantly as well due to manufacturing improvements and supply chain improvements.

 

[R1Tom]

I sure hope WI is one of those 20 service centers coming before the end of the year. Not that I need it at the moment but it will be a lot more assuring with it being 15 minutes from my house than almost two hours with traffic to Chicago.

I also cannot wait to see the R2 and when it will go up for pre-order.

Me too! Can't wait for a WI service center.

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