The big news at Rivian is higher prices.
The electric vehicle startup announced price hikes last week of $12,000 and up on its R1T pickup and R1S SUV. Initially, those increases applied to current reservation holders, but that was later walked back by CEO RJ Scaringe.
But with higher prices in place for new orders, Rivian is adding configurations that can make the vehicles less expensive by reducing the number of motors and the battery size.
Before the price hikes, the quad-motor R1T with the Large battery pack and 314 miles of estimated range started at $67,500 before shipping. Now that's up 18 percent to $79,500. Higher trims with additional options saw bigger price increases.
But for buyers willing to wait for a 2024 delivery, at the earliest, the R1T can be downgraded to a dual-motor setup for a savings of $6,000. Likewise, choosing the Standard battery pack with an estimated 260 miles of range saves another $6,000, putting the base configuration back at $67,500.
There is also an upgrade to Rivian's Max battery pack, with an estimated 400 miles of range, for $16,000 over the Standard pack. The top-trim R1T with quad motors, Max battery and optional Adventure package now starts at $95,000 without shipping. Options can push it to $120,000.
The R1S base price for the quad-motor, Large-pack version starts at $84,500 after a 20 percent price hike for orders after March 1. But downgrading the SUV to the dual-motor, Standard-pack version decreases the price to $72,500, similar to the previous price for an R1S with more motors and a bigger battery.
Rivian blamed increasing costs from its parts suppliers for the higher sticker prices.
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