Rivian electric ute confirmed for Australia

Wednesday, 24 April 2019

New American brand Rivian has confirmed plans to launch its electric ute and SUV in Australia. But no word on New Zealand.

The Tesla rival has already unveiled plans to put its R1T dual-cab ute and R1S seven-seat SUV into production by the end of 2020. While unable to confirm any timings for Australia Rivian's chief engineer, Brian Gase, said he wants to get the vehicles on sale down under as soon as possible.

Gase, who has spent time in Australia, understands the demand for utes and off-road capable SUVs in this part of the world. The two vehicles share the same 'skateboard' platform that packages batteries underneath the floor and have four electric motors, one for each wheel, that make a claimed 560kW of power and 1120Nm of torque.

Rivian has confirmed that it will be offering its all-electric R1T ute and R1S SUV in Australia.

The electric underpinnings make it easier for Rivian to engineer both left- and right-hand drive and Gase said both are being done simultaneously, despite the brand's American roots.

**READ MORE:

The R1S SUV is a full seven-seater and Rivian say it will be extremely capable off-road. And be able to accelerate to 100km/h in just over 3.0 seconds.

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Rivian's 'skateboard' electric platform makes engineering the car in either left or right hand drive much simpler.

* The SUVs turning to plug-in power**

'Yes we will have an Australian launch,' Gase said. 'And I can't wait to come back to Australia and show this to all of those beautiful people.'

With Rivian's claim of 640km, you can throw a tent on the back and head out into the wilds.

Timing will depend largely on when production capacity at Rivian's former Mitsubishi factory in Illinois can be ramped up to meet global demand. That means Gase is unable to provide any timeframe on when the R1T and R1S will make it down under.

'The 'when' is a tough question,' he explained. 'How do you pick the right strategic markets on what's core to your brand, where you're going to see sales? And that's why Australia is so exciting to us because you guys share a lot of the off-road and nature values that I think we have as a company. And you're not on Italian narrow roads where this vehicle is a harder footprint to fit in.

Gase says the Rivian's interior will be both luxurious and practical.

'The truck makes sense in the Australian market. We see significant value, particularly with the SUV in right-hand drive markets. And we've commonised everything on the vehicles forward of the B-pillar, so by default, getting a right-hand-drive truck is a low barrier, because I've got a right-hand-drive SUV.'

While it looks unconventional compared to traditional utes, with a high-end presentation inside and electric drivetrain, Gase said the R1T will have no trouble towing, going off-road and boasts an 800kg payload for the tray. Enough to relax concerns of those who are worried the rise of EVs will end camping trips or off-road adventures.

'We have really focused on the off-road capability of these vehicles,' he said. 'We have 14-inches (350mm) of dynamic ground clearance, we have a structural underbody, we have all-time all-wheel drive so we can go up 45-degree inlines, and we can accelerate from zero to 60mph (98km/h) in 3.0 seconds.

He added: 'I can tow 10,000-pounds (4500kg). I've got a tent that I can throw onto the back of the truck, I've got 400-miles (640km) of range, I've got all-time all-wheel drive so I can do anything another vehicle can do, and then some.

'Right now, I've got normal 110-volt outlets in the back, so I can run my computer, because when I'm away I can't completely switch off, or my wife can use a blowdryer because she's more into glamping than camping.'

Despite the luxury-car levels of presentation on the show cars on display at the 2019 New York motor show, Gase said he wants the R1T to be seen as a hard-working, practical vehicle.

'I want you to feel like you're in the most comfortable room in your house when you're driving this car, but I also want you to feel like if you didn't wipe your feet when you got in, you don't care because it's easy to clean,' he said.

While the R1S SUV has already been compared to a Tesla Model X or Range Rover, Gase believes the R1T is harder to pin-down potential rivals; but he has high hopes for it.

'Everything that we produce as a company is something that we consider aspirational,' he said. 'I want someone who is 10-years-old to have this poster on their wall in the same way I had the poster of a Lamborghini when I was a kid.'

Pricing for the R1T begins at US$69,000 (NZ$103,000), before tax credits, while the R1S SUV will be priced from US$74,000 (NZ$111,000). No Australian pricing has been announced and Gase didn't comment on New Zealand availability, but he did indicate that pre-orders for 'local' customers will be opening soon.