Rivian Automotive RIVN has announced more stops on its R2 Road Tour to bring the R2, R3 and Gen 2 R1S and R1T vehicles to the public for test drives and demonstrations ahead of R2 production starting in the first half of 2026.
What Happened: Rivian has said that the R2 will be a "fundamental driver" of growth going forward. That vehicle launch, along with the recently launched joint venture with Volkswagen VWAGY could be the biggest catalysts for Rivian in some time.
Rivian announced that the "R2 is coming to a city near you," with several city stops and upcoming auto shows added to the calendar.
"We're cruising through cities across the country, bringing you an up close and personal look at the all-new R2. You can also meet the new Gen 2 R1S & R1T and take a demo drive. Keep an eye out for R3X making guest appearances along the way," Rivian said.
Here's a look at the lineup of dates and cities that includes demo drives of the Gen 2 R1S and R1T, viewings of the R2 and in some cases guest appearances from the R3.
- Nov. 15 to Nov. 17, 2024, Laguna Beach, California: R2 and R3X as part of the Coast Film & Music Festival. Company also having R1 demo drives at the festival grounds.
- Nov. 20 2024, Venice, California: Meet R2 and R3X at the Rivian Venice Space
- Nov. 22 to Nov. 27, 2024, Nov. 30 to Dec. 1, 2024, Los Angeles, California: Meet R2 at the Los Angeles Show. The company will be at the Los Angeles Show several of the days throughout the event with live viewings of the R2.
- Jan. 11 to Jan. 20, 2025, Detroit, Michigan: Meet R2 and R3X at the Detroit Auto Show.
- Feb. 8 to Feb. 17, 2025, Chicago, Illinois: Meet R2 and R3X at the Chicago Auto Show.
- Feb. 19 to Feb. 23, 2025, Toronto, Canada: Meet R2 and R3X at the Canadian International Autoshow
- March 19 to March 23, 2025: Vancouver, Canada: Meet R2 and R3X at the Vancouver Auto Show.
Why It's Important: Rivian unveiled the R2 at a company event in March 2024 with a surprise unveiling of the R3 at the same event as well.
The company said it received over 68,000 reservations for the R2 in March. In July, a company executive said the reservation figure for the R2 had grown to "well over" 100,000 units.
Rivian said the R2 is expected to begin production in the first half of 2026. The new vehicle launch will diversify the company's vehicle offerings and could help it better compete with other electric vehicle companies.
News of the R2 Tour comes after the company recently launched its joint venture with Volkswagen, which is expected to reduce development costs and improve technology. The joint venture will support the launch of the R2 in 2026 and Volkswagen vehicles as early as 2027.
"Today's finalization of our joint venture with Volkswagen Group marks an important step forward in helping transition the world to electric vehicles. We're thrilled to see our technology being integrated in vehicles outside of Rivian, and we're excited for the future," Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe recently said.
Volkswagen is investing up to $5.8 billion by 2027 in the joint venture, up from a previously announced $5 billion figure.
RIVN Price Action: Rivian stock is down 0.4% to $10.02 on Tuesday, versus a 52-week trading range of $8.26 to $24.62. Rivian stock is down over 52% year-to-date in 2024.
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