Rivian has confirmed that it will open showrooms in Chicago and Los Angeles as part of their plan to establish 10 retail locations across the United States this year.
Mind you, these will not be traditional dealerships as Rivian has adopted a similar direct-to-consumer sales model as Tesla. The retail locations will be primarily used to allow customers the chance to see the R1T pickup and R1S SUV in person before they jump online and place an order.
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Crain’s Chicago Business reports that the site in Chicago will be located on W. Randolph Street in Fulton Market and the one in California will be located in Laguna Beach. Rivian chief executive RJ Scaringe has also confirmed the automaker will establish 41 service locations in the U.S. and deploy a mobile service program.
The Rivian R1T Launch Edition, which is priced from $75,000 before federal tax credit, will be the company’s first model to reach the hands of customers, with deliveries penciled in for June this year. Deliveries of the Adventure and Explore variants are tipped to begin in January 2022.
Meanwhile, the Rivian R1S that uses the same skateboard architecture as the R1T will ship in August and starts at $77,500 before the tax credit. The R1S Launch Edition includes an off-road upgrade with reinforced underbody protection, natural-grained ash wood interior surfaces, perforated vegan leather, heated and ventilated seats, and Chilewich floor mats. The R1S will also be offered in Adventure and Explore forms, with deliveries of these two to commence in January 2022.
