Rivian R1T electric truck spotted testing in New Zealand

Thursday, 15 July 2021

Rivian has brought a couple of its forthcoming electric vehicles to New Zealand, likely for a final bout of cold-weather testing. However, it could also signal the American EV maker is looking to offer the R1T truck and R1S SUV in New Zealand and Australia.

A snap of a pair of Rivian vehicles near Wanaka posted to Reddit in early July and a more recent photo of an R1S near Queenstown uploaded to Facebook furthers the cold-weather testing theory, as the Southern Hemisphere Proving Grounds (SHPG) isn’t far from either location.

This would be to iron out any final issues that may arise before sales begin in Europe next year, as indicated by an official Rivian email.

Rivian’s R1S SUV was spotted testing near Queenstown recently.

The email said: “We plan to expand sales into Europe sometime in early 2022! When we get closer to that time, we will share more details on what you can expect!”

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Back in 2019, Rivian's chief engineer, Brian Gase, said that the electric underpinnings meant converting a vehicle from left-hand to right-hand drive was easier than with a combustion-powered vehicle. At the time, he said development of both configurations was happening at the same time.

'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.'

Plus, the Rivian website says right-hand drive markets are still on the cards.

The R1T and R1S were originally meant to launch in late 2020, but Covid-19 delayed the vehicles to 2021 for US customers.

Amazon and Ford are two companies that have invested in Rivian, with the former ordering 100,000 electric delivery vans for the end of 2022.

According to the maker, the truck and SUV will produce a healthy 588kW from four electric motors, enough to hit 100kmh in around three seconds and tow as much as 5000kg, in case you ever wanted to do that and have the proper licence. Battery sizes range from 105kWh to 180kWh, with ranges of 400km to 650km.