Rivian Should Give Us A Smaller Truck Even If It Doesn't Make Sense
Thursday was reveal day for the Rivian R2, as well as the R2’s surprise sisters the smaller R3 and R3X, and we like what we saw. Deliveries won’t begin until 2026, so it’ll be a while before we actually get to drive one, but with at least 300 miles of range and a $45,000-ish starting price, at least on paper, it looks fantasticOne thing it didn’t reveal, though, was a truck version of either the R2 or R3.
Rivian Recalls Nearly Every Car It Has Built
That may have come as a surprise to a lot of people who assumed that because Rivian sells both the R1S and R1T, there would be an R2T, as well. From a business perspective, though, it’s probably smarter for Rivian to focus on crossovers. As AutoPacific’s Robby DeGraff pointed out on BlueSky, there may be plenty of demand for trucks in general, but demand for electric pickup trucks is a lot lower. So it makes sense for Rivian to focus on crossovers instead of trying to build another truck alongside the R1T.
But just because we can understand why Rivian would want to focus on the R2 and R3 over adding another truck to its lineup doesn’t mean we don’t still want one. Come on! It would be so cute! The Ford Maverick needs some more competition, and the Rivian R2T could be that competition.
OK, it would be a lot more expensive than the Maverick, so it wouldn’t be a direct competitor. Still, we can imagine plenty of people who might otherwise buy a Maverick could be convinced to buy the R2T instead. And with a starting price in the $40,000 range, it would be a lot more affordable for more people than the $70,000 R1T.
The most important thing, though, is that the R2T would be adorable. Just a cute little truck doing cute little truck things. With so many angry, aggressively styled vehicles on the road, the U.S. could always use more cuteness.
Come on, Rivian. Don’t listen to the accountants. They’re boring and always complaining about numbers. Listen to us instead. Auto journalists make excellent product planners, and we’re telling you the R2T would be awesome. So can you build it for us? Please? Pretty please? Pretty please with whipped cream and a cherry on top?
