R2 Production Has Officially Started, With First Customer Deliveries Coming This Spring

R2 production is officially rolling at the Normal plant, and Rivian says customer deliveries are coming later this spring. This is the moment we’ve all been waiting on since SXSW, and honestly after the last couple of weeks in Normal with the tornado, it’s just really nice to see the line actually running.

CFO Claire McDonough broke the news in a Reuters interview this morning. The detail that matters most for reservation holders is that Rivian is going to start inviting people to configure their vehicles in June. So if you’re holding a reservation, June is the month to watch. McDonough also said reservations have been “encouraging” so far but didn’t give any actual numbers, which, fair enough.

Pricing is the same as what was announced last month. Deliveries kick off with the $57,990 Launch Edition, then the $53,990 Premium later this year, the $48,490 rear-wheel-drive Standard in the first half of 2027, and the $45,000 version everyone has been holding out for lands by late 2027. It’s a long rollout but it tracks with how they’re staging the ramp.

The cost stuff is wild though. Once R2 hits a higher run rate in 2027, it’s going to cost Rivian less than half what an R1 costs to build. Die castings shaved 32% off. The new drive unit knocked off another 25%. And the simplified suspension? That one cut costs by 72%, which is honestly the number that made me do a double take. This is the first time we’re seeing real hard numbers behind the parts consolidation pitch they’ve been making since day one on R2.

McDonough was upfront that R2 is going to drag on margins before it starts helping them, which isn’t surprising for a new vehicle launch but worth mentioning. Rivian still thinks they’re going to exit 2026 with positive automotive gross margins thanks to R2 volume picking up and non-material costs coming down on R1 and the vans.

As for how many R2s actually hit the road this year, Rivian’s full year guidance works out to somewhere around 22,000 to 23,000 R2s if things go smoothly. BNP Paribas is modeling under 400 this quarter, around 7,000 in Q3, and about 15,000 in Q4. That’s a steep curve but it lines up with what Rivian has been signaling.

Here’s the part that’s not getting as much attention but probably should. COO Javier Varela basically said the biggest risk isn’t inside the factory, it’s the supply chain. So Rivian has put “boots on the ground” at key suppliers to try and catch issues early. Smart move, but also kind of a quiet tell that this is where these launches usually go sideways. Not at the plant, at the suppliers.

And then there’s the whole bigger picture thing. R2 isn’t just a new SUV. It’s tied into the $2,500 Autonomy+ package, the custom self-driving chip Rivian’s been building, and that Uber robotaxi deal that brought in up to $1.25 billion. All of it only really works if R2 actually scales. So yeah, kind of a big day.

Anyway, production is real, deliveries are close, and June is when things start getting interesting for people with reservations. We’ll keep tracking config invites, first delivery photos, and everything in between as it comes.