Rivian Crossover

[RivianXpress]

I was told the R1X will be a shorter version of the R1S with a rear mounted spare and more performance.

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[Whmorken]

A crossover is the combination of a sedan and an SUV, essentially a hatchback.

For example, the Jaguar's iPace has a wheelbase of 117 in compared to the R1S at 121 in. The reason the BMW i3 handles so well is because all the wheels are on the four corners of the vehicle. That is also true for the R1R.

Rivian may have a performance advantage with torque vectoring and greater battery range, but what Rivian does not have is economies of scale.

Currently, the EV market is moving from proof of concept to economies of scale with Tesla Giga factories being built in less than a year around the world. Meaning the profit margin for EVs will now be determined by the factory not the vehicle and that is why Elon Musk recognizes the value of his factories.

That being said, Rivian's performance advantage coupled with their skateboard technology allows Rivian to compete on economies of scale by placing all their vehicles on one platform.

Its too soon to speak about mass customization enabled by CAD/CAM and AI, but offering the most demanded vehicles on a Rivian skateboard seems like the best way to compete in a fast growing EV marketplace.

A Rivian crossover would be awesome and most likely break the 3 sec 0 to 60 time while offering ranges greater than 400 miles.

If you could buy only one EV, the Rivian crossover would be hard to resist.

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Would it be a crossover or a version of the R1S SUV, i.e. small or mid-size?

 

[Whmorken]

A rally car delivered as a crossover is a wolf in sheep's clothing.

One of the advantages of Rivian is the torque vectoring with 4 separate motors enabling AI assisted handling.

Do you really want to be blasting around in 2-3 ton truck or in a 1 - 2 ton crossover?

EVs just perform better and with torque vectoring can now handle better.

The question facing Rivian is, 'Does it want to be niche player in trucks and SUVs offering a platform to other manufacturers that will keep cost down by offering inferior products to Teslas?'

Or does Rivian want to offer an alternative to the excellent cars Tesla offers?

Tesla's Cybertruck has over 250,000 orders already changing the landscape by offering a vehicle that embraces form and function shaped as an airfoil with a range of over 500 miles at half the price of a R1T.

Tesla has found the economies of scale through their design. Rivian needs to do the same with their skateboard or forever be a niche player.

The proof of concept is over, now EVs will compete on economies of scale, driving down price so customers no longer have to pay a $100K for a vehicle.

How will Rivian compete?

A rally car dressed as a crossover is a good place to start.

RJ announced that the follow-up vehicles to the R1’s were already far advanced in their design progress and would be revealed in their near final configuration not as concept cars. They are just around the corner, will likely be cheaper than the R1’s, and target large markets.

 

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I was told the R1X will be a shorter version of the R1S with a rear mounted spare and more performance.

I like the idea of shorter R1S and rear mounted spare, but more performance...where or how? Street or off road performance, I don't really need quicker 0-60 times. I would also expect something shorter to have less battery, so probably less range (I still would be interested around 250 miles range).

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