The electric company
EV innovator Rivian is plugged into Irvine
RIVIAN R1S, THE ELECTRIC SUV IN DEVELOPMENT FOR 2020 RELEASE. THE COMPANY’S INNOVATIVE BATTERY RESEARCH AND DEVELOPMENT CENTER IS IN IRVINE.
By Irvine City News staff
The company that generated the biggest buzz at the recent Los Angeles Auto Show doesn’t even have a vehicle to sell… yet. But come 2020, Rivian’s first two all-electric production vehicles may well disrupt the U.S. truck and SUV markets.
While the headquarters of Rivian is near Detroit, and production will take place in a former Mitsubishi factory in Illinois, the company’s innovative battery research and development center is in Irvine, tucked away in a Spectrum industrial park.
Why start an electric car company from scratch and focus on trucks and SUVs? Here’s what Rivian says about that on the company website:
“Rivian is made up of 450 adventurous individuals and counting (editor’s note: now closer to 600, according to reports). We’re beginning by electrifying trucks and SUVs, because they are often the most-polluting vehicles on the road — a problem for people like us, who want to stay active and require a ride that is capable of handling every kind of terrain skillfully, and hauling all kinds of gear (and loved ones) effortlessly.”
It also doesn’t hurt that the truck and SUV market is profitable, with no electric competitors in sight. According to electric vehicle website Teslarati, some 90 percent of Ford’s profits come from their truck division, which includes the F-150. GM’s Denali line of luxurious trucks and SUVs accounted for over 11 percent of GM’s U.S. sales in 2017.
“As Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi play catch up to Tesla’s premium EV lineup, Rivian is working to reinvent an entirely different market,” Teslarati reports. “The company is confident that their upcoming vehicles are built for the world of tomorrow and will shake up Detroit’s perspective on electric vehicles.”
Rivian’s electric pick-up truck will have a range of 230 to 400+ miles per charge, depending on battery pack size, is capable of towing 11,000 lbs., and has a starting price of $69,000. The SUV is a seven-seater with a similar range, and is priced at $72,500, not counting tax credits. Those are the base models. The first production vehicles will be at the higher end of range and price.
The vehicles are powered by four 147-kilowatt electric motors, one on each wheel. The most powerful of the Rivian battery packs under development in Irvine will provide 80 percent more energy than the Tesla Model S and Model X, according to reports. The largest is a 180 kWh battery megapack, as Rivian calls it, and reportedly stores enough energy to power a typical U.S. household for more than two weeks.
Rivian says that the truck and SUV will have a charging capacity of 160 kW at fast-charging stations, which adds approximately 200 miles of range in around 30 minutes of charging. The vehicles will include an 11-kW onboard charger for level 2 charging. Rivian’s Irvine-based team developed the battery modules, including the microchips that run its proprietary battery management system.
It’s clear that as much thought has been put into the features and aesthetics of the vehicles, which offer an intriguing mix of the futuristic and the functional. The pickup truck includes additional storage dubbed the “gear tunnel” behind the cab, which extends from one side of the vehicle to the other, with space for hauling snowboards, golf bags or strollers.
Rivian is also focused on self-driving and intelligent features, with that part of the company based in Silicon Valley.
“We combined electrification with self-driving capabilities and intelligent features to inspire people to truly explore the world in new ways, and we’re just getting started,” Rivian’s materials say.
The startup was founded in 2009 by CEO R.J. Scaringe, a MIT graduate with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. Major investors include Sumitomo Corp. of America and Saudi Arabian conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel Co., which invests and owns renewable energy subsidiaries around the world and has a large automotive footprint in the Middle East.
The investment has been spent wisely, it seems. The former Mitsubishi plant and all its machinery and assembly systems was purchased in 2017 for a reported $16 million. Mitsubishi and Chrysler spent some $1.6 billion building the facility in 1988. It was closed in 2015.
Splitting the company up between four key locations gives Rivian access to technical and design talent already located or willing to relocate to the areas. Notably, the company has attracted a number of engineers from McLaren, as well as VPs and directors. Rivian has also attracted talent from Tesla, Faraday Future, and the big three Detroit automakers, with Scaringe getting the credit for Scaringe is said to spend a good deal of time at the Irvine R&D location, and in and around the city itself.
He says that Rivian is aimed at the automotive market that is “aspirational and high-performing but considerably more practical, inviting, and casual.”
“It’s the ideal platform to go out and enjoy nature,” he said, pointing out all the extra gear space made possible by the lack of an internal combustion engine.
“You can take kids to the beach, or go mountain biking, or surfing,” he told the L.A. Times. “It’ll be priced like a Range Rover but sold to customers who won’t mind getting muddy. It’s comfortable getting dirty. The interior design is rugged and cleanable.”
Think of a Patagonia jacket versus an Armani suit or Hugo Boss overcoat, he says. While numerous publications compare Scaringe to Tesla’s Elon Musk, perhaps the Patagonia comparison is more apt and Scaringe will turn out to be more like Yvon Chouinard, visionary founder of that iconic brand, or perhaps Richard Branson.
Or perhaps in our electric, self-driving future, commentators will be comparing other founders of promising startups to Scaringe. The fact that he and his company appreciate Irvine’s “electric” tech business climate and family-friendly, outdoor lifestyle shows great promise for Rivian.
To learn more and to reserve a Rivian vehicle with a $1,000 refundable deposit, go to products.rivian.com
While the headquarters of Rivian is near Detroit, and production will take place in a former Mitsubishi factory in Illinois, the company’s innovative battery research and development center is in Irvine, tucked away in a Spectrum industrial park.
Why start an electric car company from scratch and focus on trucks and SUVs? Here’s what Rivian says about that on the company website:
“Rivian is made up of 450 adventurous individuals and counting (editor’s note: now closer to 600, according to reports). We’re beginning by electrifying trucks and SUVs, because they are often the most-polluting vehicles on the road — a problem for people like us, who want to stay active and require a ride that is capable of handling every kind of terrain skillfully, and hauling all kinds of gear (and loved ones) effortlessly.”
It also doesn’t hurt that the truck and SUV market is profitable, with no electric competitors in sight. According to electric vehicle website Teslarati, some 90 percent of Ford’s profits come from their truck division, which includes the F-150. GM’s Denali line of luxurious trucks and SUVs accounted for over 11 percent of GM’s U.S. sales in 2017.
“As Porsche, Mercedes, BMW, and Audi play catch up to Tesla’s premium EV lineup, Rivian is working to reinvent an entirely different market,” Teslarati reports. “The company is confident that their upcoming vehicles are built for the world of tomorrow and will shake up Detroit’s perspective on electric vehicles.”
Rivian’s electric pick-up truck will have a range of 230 to 400+ miles per charge, depending on battery pack size, is capable of towing 11,000 lbs., and has a starting price of $69,000. The SUV is a seven-seater with a similar range, and is priced at $72,500, not counting tax credits. Those are the base models. The first production vehicles will be at the higher end of range and price.
The vehicles are powered by four 147-kilowatt electric motors, one on each wheel. The most powerful of the Rivian battery packs under development in Irvine will provide 80 percent more energy than the Tesla Model S and Model X, according to reports. The largest is a 180 kWh battery megapack, as Rivian calls it, and reportedly stores enough energy to power a typical U.S. household for more than two weeks.
Rivian says that the truck and SUV will have a charging capacity of 160 kW at fast-charging stations, which adds approximately 200 miles of range in around 30 minutes of charging. The vehicles will include an 11-kW onboard charger for level 2 charging. Rivian’s Irvine-based team developed the battery modules, including the microchips that run its proprietary battery management system.
It’s clear that as much thought has been put into the features and aesthetics of the vehicles, which offer an intriguing mix of the futuristic and the functional. The pickup truck includes additional storage dubbed the “gear tunnel” behind the cab, which extends from one side of the vehicle to the other, with space for hauling snowboards, golf bags or strollers.
Rivian is also focused on self-driving and intelligent features, with that part of the company based in Silicon Valley.
“We combined electrification with self-driving capabilities and intelligent features to inspire people to truly explore the world in new ways, and we’re just getting started,” Rivian’s materials say.
The startup was founded in 2009 by CEO R.J. Scaringe, a MIT graduate with a Ph.D. in mechanical engineering. Major investors include Sumitomo Corp. of America and Saudi Arabian conglomerate Abdul Latif Jameel Co., which invests and owns renewable energy subsidiaries around the world and has a large automotive footprint in the Middle East.
The investment has been spent wisely, it seems. The former Mitsubishi plant and all its machinery and assembly systems was purchased in 2017 for a reported $16 million. Mitsubishi and Chrysler spent some $1.6 billion building the facility in 1988. It was closed in 2015.
Splitting the company up between four key locations gives Rivian access to technical and design talent already located or willing to relocate to the areas. Notably, the company has attracted a number of engineers from McLaren, as well as VPs and directors. Rivian has also attracted talent from Tesla, Faraday Future, and the big three Detroit automakers, with Scaringe getting the credit for Scaringe is said to spend a good deal of time at the Irvine R&D location, and in and around the city itself.
He says that Rivian is aimed at the automotive market that is “aspirational and high-performing but considerably more practical, inviting, and casual.”
“It’s the ideal platform to go out and enjoy nature,” he said, pointing out all the extra gear space made possible by the lack of an internal combustion engine.
“You can take kids to the beach, or go mountain biking, or surfing,” he told the L.A. Times. “It’ll be priced like a Range Rover but sold to customers who won’t mind getting muddy. It’s comfortable getting dirty. The interior design is rugged and cleanable.”
Think of a Patagonia jacket versus an Armani suit or Hugo Boss overcoat, he says. While numerous publications compare Scaringe to Tesla’s Elon Musk, perhaps the Patagonia comparison is more apt and Scaringe will turn out to be more like Yvon Chouinard, visionary founder of that iconic brand, or perhaps Richard Branson.
Or perhaps in our electric, self-driving future, commentators will be comparing other founders of promising startups to Scaringe. The fact that he and his company appreciate Irvine’s “electric” tech business climate and family-friendly, outdoor lifestyle shows great promise for Rivian.
To learn more and to reserve a Rivian vehicle with a $1,000 refundable deposit, go to products.rivian.com