- Rivian began producing “manufacturing validation builds” of the R2 at its plant in Regular, Illinois, on Thursday.
- It is a huge step towards full-scale manufacturing.
- The R2 will begin round $45,000, and Rivian reiterated plans for buyer deliveries to start out within the first half of this 12 months.
The Rivian R2 is among the most anticipated electrical autos of 2026 and a make-or-break product for the startup. Now it is one essential step nearer to manufacturing.
On Thursday, Rivian mentioned it had accomplished the primary R2 “manufacturing validation builds” at its manufacturing unit in Regular, Illinois. These pre-production autos are supposed to check manufacturing unit gear and manufacturing processes to make sure the corporate is prepared for mass manufacturing with minimal hiccups.
The early builds will assist Rivian polish its manufacturing processes for the R2.
Picture by: Rivian
“A Manufacturing Validation Construct (MVB) is a part in car improvement the place an automaker builds near-production autos utilizing production-intent tooling and processes to validate that the manufacturing unit can reliably make the automotive at scale,” Rivian spokesperson Courtney Richardson mentioned in an electronic mail. “Consider it because the second the place the query shifts from ‘Can we construct the car?’ to ‘Can we construct it appropriately, repeatedly, and at quantity?'”
The corporate additionally reaffirmed plans to start out delivering R2s to prospects within the first half of 2026.
The R2, a crossover pegged to start out at $45,000 and aimed on the Tesla Mannequin Yis important for the younger automaker, as its founder and CEO mentioned on the InsideEVs Plugged-In Podcast final summer season. The R1S and R1T are a few of the finest EVs you should purchase at present, however they price north of $90,000 on common. Rivian is leaning on the R2 to construct actual economies of scale and chart a path to profitability.
The $45,000 R2 is make or break for Rivian.
Picture by: Rivian
It is also one of many electrical autos we at InsideEVs are most wanting ahead to in 2026. Over 30 new EVs are set to launch within the coming 12 months, and if Rivian can distill what makes the R1 nice right into a smaller, cheaper bundle, it might have a Mannequin Y second on its fingers.
However none of that may occur until the California startup can reliably churn out R2s on a big scale. Ramping up a brand-new car is at all times a problem, and EV upstarts have usually hit snags of 1 variety or one other—whether or not it is construct high quality on earlier Teslas or software program bugs within the Lucid Gravity. That is the place these validation builds are available.
Rivian has an interesting idea within the R2—and one which consultants imagine could possibly be a vivid spot in an unsure EV market. Now comes the onerous half: executing.
Contact the writer: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com
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