Amazon-backed electric vehicle (EV) specialist Rivian has released the latest teaser for a smaller, battery-powered SUV to take on the best-selling Tesla Model Y.
Dubbed the Rivian R2, the upcoming electric SUV will debut on March 7 (US time), sitting below the existing Rivian R1S as the brand looks to take on a higher-volume corner of the new-car market.
In a teaser video uploaded to YouTube, it appears the Rivian R2 will adopt a similar design to that of the larger R1S SUV and R1T pick up, with a full-width LED light bar separated by two ‘pill’ lights.
Rivian has previously said it is targeting a sub-US$40,000 (A$61,400) price tag for the R2, which would put it in range of the Tesla Model Y which is priced from US$39,390 (A$44,950) in the US.
Due to its smaller size, the Rivian R2 will run on a different EV platform to the R1S and R1T, with American reports suggesting it will be powered by electric motors designed in-house.
While Tesla continues to dominate global sales charts with the Model Y – which became the world’s best-selling car in 2023 – the Rivian R2 isn’t expected to enter production until 2026, where it will be built in Atlanta, Georgia.
It is understood a facelift for the Tesla Model Y will come next year, making it even harder for new models such as the Rivian R2 to take sales away from the yardstick EV.
In 2023, Rivian sold 47,203 electric cars in the USA, with 23,437 R1S SUVs and 19,410 R1T pickups accounting for the lion’s share of the total. A further 4356 EDV delivery vans were supplied to Rivian’s majority shareholder, Amazon.
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