Despite the production setbacks that have bruised Rivian’s share prices, the company’s CEO, R.J. Scaringe, remains optimistic about the company’s future, saying that the startup has plans for a range of commercial vehicles in the future.
The CEO told Reuters that there will be numerous other applications for the chassis that underpins the EDV-700, for which Amazon has placed a large order. Dubbed the RCV platform, the company has big plans for it.
“We’re thinking about many other aspects of the commercial space outside of last-mile delivery (including) cargo and work vans,” Scaringe said. “We’ve had a whole host of discussions with other customers,” he added, though he did not specify which.
The company is also planning a series of smaller commercial vehicles, which could share components with the upcoming R2 electric crossover. The series will be smaller than the EDV-700 that’s going to Amazon, and could therefore serve different niches in different markets.
In all, Scaringe said he expects Rivian to be making 1 million electric vehicles per year by 2030 and “a lot more than that” as the decade elapses. That will require more production capacity that the company currently has.
“That’s going to require multiple vehicles, different platforms and sizes,” said Scaringe. “And ultimately, multiple plants above and beyond what we have in Normal and what’s been announced in Atlanta. There will be additional facilities that will allow us to go into these different markets and scale up.”
Scaringe’s optimism comes as Rivian is struggling to ramp up production of its first vehicles. Although its customer vehicles are now rolling out of the factory, production is slow, and it’s unclear if it will be able to meet its goals this year. As its share prices suffer, its customers grow frustrated, and the demands on its production network grow, Rivian will have to produce vehicles as quickly as possible if it wants to achieve its lofty goals.
