EV maker Rivian to start taking pre-orders for electric pickup, SUV

LOS ANGELES: Electric vehicle startup Rivian said on Wednesday it would begin taking pre-orders for its electric pickup truck and SUV, with deliveries for both EVs scheduled for next year.

The launch editions of the electric R1T pickup and R1S SUV were priced at US$75,000 and US$77,500, with a 480km driving range on both vehicles.

Rivian, which is backed by Amazon.com Inc and Ford Motor  said US deliveries for R1T would start in June 2021, while the R1S deliveries would begin in August.

Pre-order holders will get early access on Nov 16 to configure their vehicle colour, battery range as well as wheels and tyres.

Rivian is building EV delivery vans for Amazon, which has ordered 100,000 vans from the startup, while Ford invested US$500 million in April with plans to use the Rivian EV platform to build a new vehicle in North America.