Eager Rivian buyers will be waiting a little longer than they would have liked to take delivery of their new truck.
Rivian R1T
After it initially announced a production delay earlier this year, Rivian was due to start delivering its R1T pickup this month. Well, it seems that's not happening anymore. According to a letter to customers from Rivian's chief executive officer, a pandemic-related delay means initial deliveries of the R1T are now due to begin in September.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe sent an email to customers who were awaiting their trucks saying, "The cascading impacts of the pandemic have had a compounding effect greater than anyone anticipated. Everything from facility construction to equipment installation, to vehicle component supply (especially semiconductors), has been impacted by the pandemic."
Scaringe also added that Rivian has now built hundreds of validation models and that, even though several R1T trucks and R1S SUVs have been spotted out in the wild, the company still continues to test the vehicles as a means of avoiding any potential quality issues by the time deliveries of these models truly begin. Scaringe also noted that he and Rivian will try to better communicate delivery issues in the future.
A multi-city, multi-format drive program for customers will be announced in September, per Scaringe's email. Still, the delays won't please customers who have been eagerly awaiting their new EV. Nevertheless, if the September date holds, then the R1T will be the first of the new wave of electric pickups to make it into the hands of customers, beating the likes of the Ford F-150 Lightning, GMC Hummer EV, and Tesla Cybertruck to market.
-by Amaan Attar
0 Comments