Spotted this morning in Bolzano, Italy: a Rivian R1T with LiDAR and autonomy sensors. Before you get too excited about buying an R1T in Europe, this is almost definitely just Rivian doing prep work.
The photos popped up on the Rivian Discord thanks to Waroen5. It’s a black R1T with a roof rack packed with sensors. The license plate is Dutch, not Italian, so this truck is road tripping around Europe.
What you’re seeing here is a mapping and ground-truth machine. Rivian’s autonomy team uses real-world data collected by these test trucks to train its Large Driving Model. They’ve done the same thing in the US and Canada: R1 loaded with cameras, radar, and LiDAR, cruising around and scooping up data.
Rivian’s said they want to bring the R2 to Europe in the next couple of years, but you can’t just roll into a new country and turn on autonomy. The roads need to be driven, mapped, and localized first. Italian streets, European road signs, and roundabouts that make no sense if you’re used to American intersections all need to be fed into the system before any hands-free features work.
So, no, the R1T isn’t about to hit Italian streets. Nothing here points to that. But it does look like Rivian’s already laying the groundwork for Europe, with work underway sooner than some of us expected, considering how much is still happening with the R2 launch back in the States.
Will Rivian actually pull this off on schedule? Honestly, your guess is as good as mine. The company has plenty on its plate, and Europe’s always been a bit of a question mark. But hey, seeing a sensor-packed truck hanging out in Bolzano is a solid sign that things are moving.
I live in Italy and will happily drive these insanely small roads if Rivian needs help. Feel free to offer my services!! 🙂