Rivian’s R2 just helped it set a new sales record

Rivian sold more electric vehicles than ever in the third quarter, thanks in large part to the launch of its new, more affordable R2 SUV.

The company said Friday morning that it built 19,751 vehicles and delivered 19,248. That’s roughly 45% more than it delivered in the same period last year.

While Rivian didn’t break out how many of those were R2 SUVs, this was the first full quarter of sales of the new vehicle after it launched in June. The company said Friday that it will release its full third-quarter financial results on October 29.

Rivian has big plans for the R2, which currently starts just under $60,000. The company is betting that it will sell between 20,000 to 25,000 R2 vehicles by the end of the year, which would make it one of the fastest-selling EVs in U.S. history — second only to Tesla’s Model Y. Rivian also plans to make cheaper models available that will cost as low as around $45,000.

If Rivian hits those numbers, the company believes it can sell between 65,000 and 70,000 vehicles this year, including its R1 lineup of vehicles and its commercial electric van. That would be its best sales year ever, as the company has spent the last few years stuck at around the 50,000-vehicles-sold mark.

Rivian is currently building the R2 at its factory in Normal, Illinois, where it recently expanded the production space to accommodate the new SUV. But Rivian is also building a brand new factory outside Atlanta, Georgia, where it expects to be able to build as many as 300,000 vehicles per year in the near future, with the option to expand that capacity down the road.

Rivian needs the R2 to sell well in order to staunch years of heavy losses, due in part to the company expensive infrastructure required to support this mass-market vehicle. But Rivian has also signed a deal with Uber to make robotaxi versions of the R2 SUV. Rivian believes robotaxis represents such a big potential market that, in March, the company pushed back its goal of reaching profitability in 2027 to invest more money into autonomy.

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Sean O’Kane is a reporter who has spent a decade covering the rapidly-evolving business and technology of the transportation industry, including Tesla and the many startups chasing Elon Musk. Most recently, he was a reporter at Bloomberg News where he helped break stories about some of the most notorious EV SPAC flops. He previously worked at The Verge, where he also covered consumer technology, hosted many short- and long-form videos, performed product and editorial photography, and once nearly passed out in a Red Bull Air Race plane.

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