Rivian Unveils New Cheaper Battery Options For R1 Electric Truck And SUV

California-based EV maker Rivian Automotive Inc RIVN on Thursday introduced two new battery options for its electric truck and SUV, aiming for better accessibility for its vehicles otherwise priced closer to the higher-end.

What Happened: While the standard battery will offer 270 miles on the dual motor all-wheel drive R1T or R1S, the Standard+ battery will offer 315 miles, according to the company website.

We're introducing two new range options for the R1T and R1S. With the same capability and performance Rivian owners love, these new options make R1 ownership more accessible than ever: https://t.co/56qJUln6zY pic.twitter.com/w8TWMEPkQX

— Rivian (@Rivian) February 8, 2024

While the Standard battery will come included within the starting price of the vehicle, the Standard+ is priced at $3,100, still lower than Large and Max battery packs, priced at $9,100 and $19,100 respectively.

The lower-priced battery options will significantly bring down the cost of ownership of these vehicles, both with a starting price of about $70,000. While the R1T starts at $69,900 in the U.S., the R1S starts at $74,900.

Drive System, Battery Compatibility: However, select battery options are not compatible with certain drive system choices. Rivian offers three drive systems– dual-motor, performance dual-motor, and quad-motor.

The quad-motor drive system, for instance, can only have a large battery pack which offers about 352 miles of range.

Only the dual-motor drive system has the option of choosing between all four battery options provided by the company including Max which touts over 400 miles of range.

Battery Chemistry: The new battery packs employ an NCA (Lithium-Nickel, Cobalt, Aluminum) battery cell chemistry, Rivian said on X while adding that it will introduce a Lithium iron phosphate or LFP battery for its standard pack later this year.

We're using an NCA battery cell chemistry in these packs; we'll introduce a Lithium iron phosphate battery for our Standard pack later this year. 🔋

— Rivian (@Rivian) February 8, 2024

EV Tax Credit: While Rivian has said that customers may qualify for a federal tax credit of $3,750 on purchasing its vehicles with the newly introduced battery options, Fuel economy, the official government source for fuel economy information, is yet to list them as eligible for any EV purchase tax credit.

Customers may qualify for the IRA tax incentive of $3,750 if purchasing. Leasing customers will receive $7,500 EV lease credit at time of purchase with no application needed!

— Rivian (@Rivian) February 8, 2024

Photo by Tada Images on Shutterstock

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