Rivian R1T production delays will not affect Amazon delivery van rollout

Rivian’s first deliveries of its R1T pickup truck may be delayed to September, but the company has stated that its custom-designed Amazon delivery vans are still being rolled out as scheduled. 

Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe recently confirmed last week that the production of the R1T pickup truck had been adversely affected by the pandemic. Despite this, spokespeople from Rivian have told CNBC that these delays have no impact on the release of the electric delivery vans for e-commerce giant Amazon. 

The Rivian spokespersons added that the company still plans to start production of the Amazon delivery vans this year, with a goal of rolling out 10,000 of the vehicle as early as next year. This number is but a fraction of the vans that Rivian would be making, as Amazon announced back in 2019 that it would be buying 100,000 units of the all-electric delivery vehicles from Rivian. 

Amazon has already deployed some Rivian delivery vans across the United States, and they have so far been received warmly. By the end of 2021, Amazon is looking to test the all-electric delivery vans in 16 cities across the country.

Rivian’s Amazon delivery vans utilize the company’s skateboard platform, and they are designed to be capable of traveling 150 miles per charge. A potential production ramp for the electric delivery vans was teased by Scaringe earlier this month when he showed eight of the vehicles seemingly ready for deployment. 

The production of the electric Amazon delivery vans should keep Rivian busy for the coming months, and it would likely provide the company with some experience in mass-producing vehicles. This could help Rivian prepare better for the deliveries of the R1T pickup and the R1S SUV, which were initially expected to start in July and August, respectively. 

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