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- Rivian has unveiled a prototype of its new electric SUV, the R2, which is expected to start at around $45,000.
- The five-seater vehicle is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2026 and will have an estimated battery range of 300 miles.
- Company officials say the R2 is critical to Rivian’s long-term goal of becoming a mass-market electric car maker.
Rivian has unveiled a prototype of its upcoming $45,000 R2 electric SUV, which company officials say will be critical to its long-term future as a viable automaker.
The Irvine, Calif.-based company said in a post on its website that the R2 seats five people and has an estimated battery range of about 300 miles.
“We listened and learned how to build vehicles suitable for all kinds of adventures, and the R2 has everything you need to go out and say yes to something new,” Rivian said of the new electric SUV.
What you need to know about R2
The vehicle will be priced from around $45,000 and is expected to go on sale in the first half of 2026.
Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe appeared on the podcast “On with Kara Swisher” on January 29 and said R2 is important to the company’s plans to scale up to become a mass-market electric car maker.
“Rivian isn’t just designed for R1,” Scaringe said. “If the goal was to build a company that only produced 15,000 cars a year, it would be a very different business. But we have invested seriously in the business and have thought and planned for Rivian to become a much larger company. So R2 needs to be successful in supporting the speed of capital construction of the business, depending on how much technology we develop and how much infrastructure we build.”
What are people saying about R2?
“Equipped with a permanent magnet electric motor on each axle, it delivers a total output of 656 horsepower and 609 pound-feet of torque,” Car and Driver said in its review of the R2 prototype it recently drove.
“The ride quality is a bit more refined than the R1S; the tires don’t have to operate at as high pressures to support the mass, and the lower body height reduces the feeling of how much the vehicle rolls in corners,” the website says. “And yes, turn the corner.”
The website InsideEVs.com said in its own review after driving the R2 prototype that the electric SUV has “more than 300 miles of range, 656 horsepower, 609 pound-feet of torque, and a 0-60 mph time of 3.6 seconds.”
“This is a serious situation for a family SUV that not only competes with the ubiquitous Tesla Model Y, but also potentially competes with mainstream gas-powered crossovers,” the website says.
