Rivian Confirms Production Delayed Until Next Summer

On Friday, electric vehicle startup Rivian said it expects to commence deliveries of its all-electric pickup and crossovers next summer — placing the company roughly 6 months behind schedule.

However, before we crap on the company for being another novice EV company that can’t hack it, it should be said that product delays are quickly becoming the norm within the industry. This postponement may be indicative of nothing more than Rivian confronting the same hardships experienced by practically every other automaker in operation — though cash should not be among them.

The company said in April to expect adjustments to its delivery timeline as it tackled issues stemming from the pandemic while prepping the former Diamond-Star Motors/Mitsubishi plant in Normal, IL.

Rivian is undoubtedly hoping its competition finds itself in a similar boat.

Tesla’s Cybertruck is supposed to begin production early in 2021 (at a Texas plant that has not yet begun construction). Ford and General Motors also have all-electric pickups scheduled for 2022, with the GMC Hummer EV supposedly coming before that. Each day Rivian fails to deliver is another day given to the competition.

According to the Rivian Forum, the R1T pickup will begin rolling off the main assembly line in June of 2021, with the R1S utility vehicle scheduled closely behind in August. The company plans to continue building in very limited numbers using its pilot production line in the interim period. That line is there mainly to help Rivian troubleshoot before factory retooling is complete and assist in the training of employees. It won’t be able to meet customer orders until next summer — including sizable orders placed by Amazon and whatever deal Ford currently has with the company.

[Image: Rivian]