Rivian’s next two vehicles are both going to be cheaper than R2, and RJ Scaringe said as much in a new interview with The New York Times. He was pretty direct about it: R3 will move the price point “materially lower,” and R4, the product after it, will move it down again.
He didn’t attach numbers or dates to either one.
The R4 part is what caught my attention. We’ve known R3 was the smaller follow-up since Rivian revealed it alongside R2, and RJ has mentioned R4 before, but this is the first time I’ve seen him put it on a clear price ladder below R3.
The more interesting part of the interview is why he thinks Rivian can pull this off. RJ said the company paid a 40 to 50% premium on parts when R1 launched because suppliers saw a young automaker as a risk. Now those suppliers’ CEOs are flying out to Irvine and Normal to pitch their business, and that’s leverage Rivian simply didn’t have in 2021, especially during the era of COVID when supply changes were a massive mess.
R3 rides on the same midsize platform as R2, so I fully expect a lot of what I’ve experienced in my R2 to carry over, from the software to the overall driving feel. The real question is which features Rivian trims to hit a lower price, and that’s what I’ll be watching for once pricing is announced.
As soon as Rivian shares anything official on R3 pricing or timing, I’ll share it with you all.
I can’t wait for the R3X. definitely putting a deposit down on day one. I initially thought I’d trade in my Gen 1 R1 for it, but assuming the R1 keeps running strong long term, I’m leaning toward going all in on a two EV garage. The pairing of full size capability and hot hatch agility is just too good to pass up
The R3X looks like a Mk2 Rallye Golf (to me, of course), and for that alone I want one real bad. If it drives anything like the R2 Performance, it will be otherworldly
Any eyes on R4?
Can’t wait, exciting times.
Which features? Well the R3 is much smaller and has better aero. I expect a lot of it will be a much smaller battery needed for the same metrics. Less everything really because of it’s size, just like any auto company and their very small models. I also expect an even more simplified interior with some interesting material choices that help bring the cost down further.
The bigger issue is can they even get to the R3. Even RJ won’t comment on timing. Why? They are in a very tough spot. If you notice, they paused Georgia for a long time. I’m not talking about the original pause, I’m talking about from the start of 2026 they had it on pause. They had a descision to make and it all depended on how well the R2 sold. Turns out the R2 is selling great. The second they saw that they green lighted Georgia and got to work. I truly believe the other alternative was spending the money to make a line to build the R3 in Illinois. However, the real issue now is they won’t have a R3 to sell until 2029. Even if the plant construction goes well, they won’t be really cranking out R3s until very late in 2028 and that assumes no delays with the plant. There are always delays in a project of that magnitude.
So Rivian has it’s current line up for the next almost 3 years. That is NOT good and RJ knows it. I am sure there were some very long and hotly debated meetings around the idea of spending even more money and making the initial R3 versions in Illinois and I believe they should have done that. Even if they sell 100k R2s in 2027 they are still not at capacity in Illinois. Who builds an entirely new plant for billions when the current, smaller plant can’t even run at capacity? I think it was a huge mistake but I also think they were handcuffed. It would have cost upwards of another billion to get the Illinois plant ready for the R3. But, they should have done it really.
So, can Rivian make it with only selling the R1S, R1T, vans and R2 for the next 3 years?? Maybe, I guess it’s possible.
Rivian has a winner with the R2.
They’re ramping in a cost effective way and making sure they reach mass production with good margin on 1 and only 1 vehicle before growing it to a 2nd vehicle. Telsa did the same. This is a very important time for them to get it right. Mass produce quality to make good operating margin on a vehicle. When successful they can duplicate it with the R3.
Things must be going pretty well for RJ to pop up with this information right now. He’s not worried about eating into their own success with the R2 now.