Delays by Rivian raise customers' frustration

For many Rivian R1T customers, it's not the configuring, the ordering or the paying that is the hardest part.

It's the waiting.

The R1T electric pickup — the company's first consumer vehicle — has had four delivery dates in the last year, going from late 2020, to June to July and now September.

One more significant delay could not only see Rivian lose the race to be first on the market with an electric pickup, but it might also seriously damage the startup's credibility and ding sales. At least that's the sentiment on Rivian forums, where several posters have said they are taking a closer look at electric vehicles they can buy now, such as the Ford Mustang Mach-E and Tesla Model Y.

As it stands today, the first R1T deliveries are scheduled to begin sometime in September. General Motors expects to start deliveries of the GMC Hummer electric pickup this fall. If both timelines hold, Rivian will still be first — but not by much. And if it isn't, consumers will have other models to consider. There's the battery-electric Ford F-150 Lightning scheduled for spring. Electric versions of the Chevrolet Silverado, GMC Sierra and Ram 1500 pickups also are in the pipeline. Bollinger Motors is still working on its electric pickup — and the funding to get it into production.

To be fair, the latest R1T delay — announced July 16 in a note to customers from Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe — should not have come as a surprise to those paying close attention to the auto industry.

Many automakers are struggling to launch vehicles on time because of lingering effects of the pandemic, and, more recently, the chip shortage. The Ford Bronco SUV launching now, for example, is months late, and not all options are available. Production of other in-demand vehicles, such as the Land Rover Defender and Chevrolet Corvette, have been disrupted.

But many of Rivian's early customers are not focused on the auto industry's daily struggles. They just want their electric trucks now.

"We all knew this was coming and it's super annoying," Eric from Simi Valley, Calif., wrote on Rivianforums.com. "It is what it is. If there is another delay e-mail in the middle of September, I think you are going to see a lot of people jump ship."

AZBill, an engineer from Arizona, placed an order for an R1T more than two years ago. He wrote on the site that he is no longer interested in a Rivian.

"I am not actually angry, but very disappointed, thus I cancelled my pre-order officially yesterday … I now have a one-month old Mach E in my garage and a Hummer EV reserved. The Hummer has more of what I really want, so if I have to wait well into next year, it wins for sure."

But many Rivian customers say they are not so much irked at the delays but by the lack of clear and timely communication from the company.

Many said they were expecting to be contacted by their Rivian guides in May, June or early July to finalize their orders. But all they heard were rumors in forums, on Facebook and elsewhere.

"As bad as the delay is (and continues to be), I actually feel better that we were told by RJ himself and not some random last minute email, or no information at all," Marvin, a Rivian customer who lives in Dallas, wrote on Rivianforums.com. "In fact, I feel a lot better. The silence was deafening."

In Scaringe's letter to customers, he said the company would try to do a better job of telling customers when they will receive their trucks. He wrote: "I have spoken with a number of you and know we need to do a better job at communicating specifics around deliveries."

Tesla owner John King of Bend, Ore., is OK with the delay so long as the R1T launches free of defects. But he sees Rivian's chances of retaining its customers getting tougher as the market adds more EVs.

"Quality is certainly what we as consumers need. If Rivian can be more predictable for each order starting today and communicate through their website and guides regularly, it would be good," he wrote on the website.

"I think they got a good product and a developing customer base. But their advantage as the first mover (EV trucks, full-sized SUV) might be starting to ebb away."

Some Rivian customers are blaming Amazon for the delay. They say that while the R1T has been pushed back, Rivian has not announced any delays in the ramp-up of production of the electric delivery van the company is building for Amazon. About 10,000 vans are expected to be built next year.