Rivian is betting its future on one of the fastest EV launches in US history
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If Rivian reaches its R2 sales target in 2026, it will be one of the fastest ramp-ups ever of a new EV in the United States.
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Rivian is planning one of the fastest launches of a new all-electric car in the U.S. with its forthcoming R2 SUV, according to company statements and a TechCrunch analysis of historical sales data. If Rivian is successful, it would prove a strong start for a product that founder and CEO RJ Scaringe has said is “maybe the most important thing we’ve launched to date.” It can’t afford not to. Rivian’s future — and chances at profitability — hinges on the success of the R2. If it struggles to ramp production and sales of the R2, shareholders could flee. At the very least, it would raise questions about the company’s strategy of burning through billions now to prepare for mass-market scale . Rivian told investors last month that it expects to sell between 20,000 and 25,000 R2s this year, with the first SUVs likely to head to customers in June once production begins. Even if Rivian hits the low end of that target, its sales rate will outpace every other comparable electric at or under $60,000 other than the Tesla Model Y. The Model Y, launched in March 2020, took only around four months to surpass 20,000 vehicles sold. Rivian is aiming to do it in about six months, or roughly the same amount of time it took the Honda Prologue to reach that sales milestone when it debuted in 2024. The next-quickest EV to hit 20,000 in sales in the U.S. was the Chevy Equinox EV, which did it in around eight months after it hit the market in 2024. Ford’s Mustang Mach-E took a similar amount of time after launching in 2021, while Korean EVs like the Hyundai Ioniq 5 and Kia EV6 took around 10 and 11 months, respectively. Cars that had rough rollouts, like Tesla’s Model 3 (the origin of Elon Musk’s famous “production hell”) or the Chevy Blazer EV (which suffered through a major stop-sale and recall) took as long or longer. Techcrunch event Disrupt 2026: The tech ecosystem, all in one room Your next round. Your next hire. Your next breakout opportunity. Find it at TechCrunch Disrupt 2026, where ...
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