Are you in line for a Rivian R1S? You’re in for a hefty price hike.
UPDATE 3/3/2022: Rivian announced it would honor the original pricing for reservation holders who jumped in before March 1. The pricing information below is not relevant to those who already put in a reservation, when that pre-order is actually scheduled for production.
Head over to the EV automaker’s configurator site now, and you’ll notice pricing and options have changed for their debut SUV. There is some more choice now, in that there’s a “cheaper” dual-motor AWD option available. The down side? It costs just as much ($72,500) as the previous base model, a quad-motor AWD Explore package, did when Rivian launched the configurator.
If you’re looking to buy a Rivian R1S or you’re a current reservation holder, you’ll pay far more for that same spec today. In fact, the quad-motor AWD Explore, with the 320-plus-mile “Large Pack” battery, now costs at least $12,000 more. That means an $84,500 asking price for a similar spec to what some of you may have reserved a little while back. If you want a fully-loaded model with all the bells and whistles, including Rivian’s wall-mounted home charger, you’ll easily top $100,000.
One spec I worked up for an Adventure Package in Rivian Blue with the 22-inch “Sport Dark” wheel package, “Ocean Coast” interior, a three-person Yakima rooftop tent (as the camping package), underbody shield, all-weather floor mats and the wall charger came out to $104,075.
Why the major price hike?
Depending on which model you choose, you’ll now pay nearly 20% more if you place a new reservation. And that includes current reservation holders, not just people who go to the configurator site and order one today or in the near future. Update: This is not the case, according to a letter from Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe sent out after we published this article.
So, why the massive jump? Blame inflation and the supply shortage, according to a letter sent to those sitting on preorders and posted to Rivian Owners Forum. “These price increases — the result of inflationary pressure on the cost of supplier components and raw materials across the world — will allow us to maintain product excellence as we continue investing in electrification for our shared future,” the company’s statement says.
Rivian goes on to suggest that you can get a R1S near the same price you were expecting: You’ll just have to downgrade. The dual-motor AWD comes with the lesser, 260-mile “Standard Pack” by default. From there, the larger pack is $6,000, and the quad-motor AWD is another $6,000. All Rivian R1S models now come standard with 7-passenger seating (the 5-seat configuration is no longer an option). Mind you, the dual-motor setup provides 600 horsepower and 600 lb-ft of torque, as well as a 0-60 time in the 4.0 second range, according to Rivian. The quad-motor configuration manages 835 horsepower and more than 800 lb-ft of torque.
There’s one more caveat:
Strip your Rivian R1S down to the bare essentials to get the lowest price (at least for the moment), and you’ll have to wait until 2024 to see your car. You can split the difference, getting the R1S Explore package with dual-motor AWD and the larger battery pack — that puts the lowest price for a near-future build at $78,500.
You’ll still be able to get federal and state tax incentives to take some of the bite out of that price jump in the long-term. Still, if you want to jump into the Rivian R1S ecosystem, just be prepared to shell out more dough.
While the R1S SUV isn’t in production just yet, you can check out more on the R1T pickup below:
