Rivian

Rivian – Adventure is a lifestyle

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adventure in Real life
Photo by Cody Scott Milewski on Unsplash

Rivian – Adventure is a lifestyle 

Rivian emerged in 2009 to fanfare regarding their introduction to the electric vehicle playground. Yet their mission was different from most other car manufactures. 

Rivian’s Mission

Rivian is on a mission to keep the world adventurous forever. We believe there is a more responsible way to explore the world and are determined to make the transition to sustainable transportation an exciting one. We designed our emissions-free Electric Adventure Vehicles to challenge what’s possible.

https://www.comparably.com/companies/rivian

This mission talks about helping people enjoy the environment we live in and a wish to keep it pristine. Yet that was not always the vision for RJ Scaringe the CEO of Rivian. 

RJ Scaringe
Image courtesy of https://www.seattletimes.com/business/young-ceo-of-electric-vehicle-startup-rivian-has-amazon-riding-shotgun/

Back before Rivian was founded RJ Scaringe was just a young man with a dream to work in the automotive industry and help to increase efficiencies within current vehicles. At that time all vehicles were internal combustion engines. 

He spent his early years working on restoring Porsches in Florida where he grew his passion for vehicles of all types and fed the seed of his desire to be a figure in the automotive industry. 

Yet over the years and whilst he was studying at MIT with a focus on the auto industry he was met with an internal conflict. 

RJ was an outdoors person; he loved mountain bike riding and savoured the beauty and wonder of the natural environment.

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Yet whilst he enjoyed exploring the wilderness on the back of a metal steed, he was frustrated by the fact that the vehicles he took to get to the wilderness were also polluting the air he so dearly loved.

During the following years, he came to realize that no matter what he did in any traditional car company he could not make a difference to change the status quo. 

It was this realization that led him to start his own car company called Avera Motors. With funding from several investors, he set out with 20 others to create what would ultimately become Rivian. 

Stealth Mode

Rivian – Adventure is a lifestyle. Rivian ran in stealth mode for over 10 years before revealing itself to the world. Stealth mode, for the uninitiated, is when a company runs under the radar without any badges or press releases and continues to grow and develop before opening itself up to the greater world. Rivian did just this and surprised the World auto market in 2009 when they revealed the R1-S and R1-T

R1T camping
Image courtesy of Rivian.com

Early in Rivian’s development, they spent the first 5 years working to grow their team, building the business and organization whilst working on a sports car design.  

That’s right, Rivian had at that time focussed on a sports car it wasn’t until later that the adventure vehicle of the future really set the tone. 

RJ Scaringe’s dream of developing a vehicle that helps to get people to experience the outdoors and create memories was not in the sports car realm. So, they Pivoted. 

They pivoted and changed focus to the adventure lifestyle that is now a driving force behind the adventure vehicles R1S and the R1T. 

Pivot

Rivian finally released their new Vehicle R1-T to the public with first deliveries. So how did they get here?

When RJ Scaringe decided to Pivot away from the sports car, he focussed on what he truly believed. His passion for the outdoors and his drive to preserve the beautiful wilderness, that he loved, helped to frame the question of where to pivot.

Making a vehicle that not only can get you to the place you want to be but to do so by inspiring adventure. Helping the individual to make new memories and the vehicle that helps you to stay active. 

Just as Tesla has a mission to transition the world to sustainable energy, Rivian wants to help people experience the outdoors, be more active and adventurous. They also don’t want to impact the climate or the natural world around us whilst doing it. They just want to encourage the adventurous spirit. 

The vehicles

Rivian – Adventure is a lifestyle. The introduction of the new Rivian R1T and R1S was not the first 4×4 electric Truck to be introduced to the marketplace but they are one of the most appealing choices.  

R1T dirt road
Image courtesy of Rivian.com

These vehicles whilst feeling familiar have nothing but new respect and take on the industry. RJ Scaringe famously mentioned that to reinvent the vehicle for the future you need system-level thinking and a clean sheet of paper. 

They decided to ask the fundamental questions of why it is important to have a vehicle for adventure. The answer they delivered is that of the R1S. This off-road adventure vehicle had some surprising features.

 The introduction of the skateboard design battery pack with a rugged protection system and features like the “Tank Turn”, the gear tunnel, and adaptable list of camping accessories makes the Rivian R1S a more than a capable vehicle for the outdoors.

R1T Spec
Image courtesy of Rivian.com

At first glance, the Rivian looks familiar like current trucks/SUV on the road which will make it extremely appealing to the average person who is looking to Buy. 

R1t storage
Image courtesy of Rivian.com
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Charging infrastructure. 

Up until recently the assumption by most is that Rivian would utilize the Charge America chargers to power their dream of the future. 

However, the chargers that are required for outdoor adventures are not located in the exact locations. So Rivian has developed their own. These chargers are to be in numerous locations across the United States as a starting point and are in wilderness areas.  

The Rivian Adventure Network will be the connection you need when seeking adventure. 

Rivian has also developed home chargers and portable charging cables as well. 

My introduction to the Rivian Brand

Rivian – Adventure is a lifestyle. I had heard of Rivian as they came out of stealth mode. It wasn’t until the “Long Way Up” documentary that they really captured my and many others’ interest. The vehicles that were used through the show were the first ever built. They were rough but practical and capable. They proved that electric vehicles could be used when off-road and going through rough terrain. 

Since this show was developed and aired Rivian has moved forward with leaps and bounds. Development of the vehicles along with the creation of the factory in Normal has given them the capability of creating their original dream after pivot of an adventure vehicle for the masses. 

A dream was realized for RJ Scaringe and the team at Rivian. 

Rivian is mostly focused on the American market currently, however they have deployed test vehicles to Australia and New Zealand currently. These vehicles are, by my best guess, to prove they can handle  Australian and New Zealand terrains and also have them reviewed and hopefully approved for sale in Australia in the years to come. 

I for one will be watching how Rivian proceeds and grow over the coming years. Their passion and mission again inspire the imagination of where the vehicles can go, but more importantly how they can help to improve the environment and maintain an adventurous spirit. 

For more information about Rivian check out EV-HQ.com/Rivian

Dave 

2021 the year of the Electric Vehicle

EV-HQ2 Comments

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Tesla, Rivian, NIO, ACE, and hundreds more car companies are hoping that 2021 will be the year of the electric vehicle(EV). 

The EV movement has continued to grow in strength globally in recent history. Unfortunately 2020 changed a number of plans.

The pandemic became the leading story and focus in 2020. Plans were postponed.

Vaccines are becoming more prevalent which is improving the community confidence. This in turn is growing confidence in the EV marketplace. 

Electrification was subject to much discussion over the last 10 years.

Taking a view that shifting towards electric vehicles is considered the solution to improving the environment.

Introducing Electric vehicles to the marketplace has taken on new life recently with many established car manufacturers starting to shift their fleet towards an all-electric lineup.

Nissan, Mercedes, GM and many more have all started to unveil a plan to transition to electric in the coming years. 

Nissan Electric vehicle
Image courtesy of Nissan.com

Transitioning would not have been possible had it not been for the pioneers of the electric vehicles.

Since the invention of the electric motor, notably attributed to the inventor Nikola Tesla, to the modern-day technological advancements of autonomous driving, the electric car is offering very compelling reasons to transition away from the ICE vehicles of the last century. 

Since the beginning of 2021 a number of Electric car manufacturers have been given confidence that 2021 will be a year to remember. 

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Tesla

The end of 2020 was a race for Tesla to deliver a record-breaking delivery/production of Tesla vehicles in one Year. Elon musk himself in 2014 predicted that Tesla would manufacture 500000 vehicles by 2020. This prediction was right on point. 

Tesla had an encouraging year with Production of 509,737 vehicles from their factories in Fremont California and Shanghai, China. This production rate is quite impressive considering that both factories has to shut their doors and manufacturing for a number of weeks in the earlier part of 2020 due to the pandemic. 

What is even more significant about these numbers is the evidence that Elon Musk prophesized 6 years ago that 500,000 was possible. 499,550 deliveries for 2020. 

The response to these figures along with the acceptance to the S&P 500 has seen the Share price in the beginning of 2021 surge close to 5% and the share price is currently at $880.02 (USD) a share.

The market is now realizing that the electric vehicles market will grow into the future and become the dominant vehicles sales leading into the next decade. 

Rivian

Rivian has been an exciting company to follow and understand. After spending 10 years in stealth mode developing their new platform of off roading vehicles, they revealed to the world just a few short years ago 2 compelling and exciting vehicles, the R1T, and R1S. 

Recently, Rivian worked with Ewan McGregor and Charlie Borman’s Long way Up as part of an epic road journey. This journey sent them on a 12000 miles journey from the tip of south America to the Las Angeles home. 

As the support vehicles they selected the Rivian R1T to be their vehicle of choice. Rivian’s vehicles became the first two ever built and they were a test bed for the vehicles to perform. Perform they did. Not only did they make the journey, but they also helped to develop their technology further and show the real capabilities of what the years of development have led too. 

2021, for Rivian, will be a year of growth and deliveries. R.J. Scavenger the CEO of Rivian, and the whole team at Rivian should be proud of what they have done and what the future holds. 

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NIO

NIO released details of another vehicles that will help to compete in the marketplace both in China but also globally.

This introduction of the new ET7 will be their first step towards the Sedan market. This will be a direct competitor with eh model 3 that Tesla produces. 

Up till now has been focused on the sports car and SUV market. Their development of Battery swap technology and autonomous driving gives them an established footprint to grow their customers and market value. 

They have demonstrated one thing above all, you need to compete with, or better than, your competitors. The introduction of the ET7 may just be the vehicle to do that. 

Here in Australia we have not been as prolific with our uptake of electric vehicles. This is due to a number of challenges including lack of understanding the shift to the global transition of electrification.

Federal government lack luster attempt to support the economy with propping up the Gas, Coal and Oil industries to the tune of Billions a year whilst missing the opportunities that electric vehicles and renewables could offer the Australian economy. 

However, Australia has some bright lights in this shadow. 

ACE EV 

ACE EV is an Australian electric vehicle company. They continue to take strides to develop and grow the uptake of electric vehicles.

They have shown how passionate they are about their products. This will help drive the uptake and transition to the electric vehicles market. 

They has been developing a lightweight, compact vehicles. Their focus is on last mile delivery vehicles and is looking to the consumer market in the coming years. 

Australian ingenuity and innovation is driving the industry. It is hoped that it will drive further innovation and growth in this marker. 

These 4 car companies and the hundreds more that exists with their innovative thinking and passion towards improving the environment, hoping to develop and introduce safer and autonomous driving experiences demonstrate that 2021 just might be the year of the electric vehicle. 

The excitement that has occurred in late 2020 and is now starting to ramp up in 2021 only encourages me to think that this year will be transformative and will be the year that history looks back on saying how amazing it would have been to see this transition in person. 

Dave