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by mingus88 614 days ago
Rivian also got in a dispute with Amazon when the latter wasn’t ordering enough delivery vans; as I understand it they tried to sell to others but Amazon had an exclusivity clause

Seems like some self inflicted wounds in an industry that can’t afford a slip
2 comments
jmisavage 614 days ago
Thankfully the exclusivity clause was finally dropped Nov of last year. Amazon has invested a lot of money into Rivian and if they want to recoup that investment it’s in their best interest not to needlessly hinder them.

Still hoping the R2 launch gets them into the mainstream and profitable.

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charrondev 614 days ago
My biggest surprise with the non-Chinese EVs is that the range hasn’t been increasing. Rivian announced models r2 and r3 seem that are set to come in 2026 and 2027 seem to still be around 300 miles of range. Most other EVs are similar.

At the same time Chinese EVs have ranges of of 500 and 600 miles.

I don’t think I can purchase an EV as a primary vehicle until they catch up.

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malfist 613 days ago
Rivian has some options in those ranges, but it gets really expensive. In all actuality 300 miles seems the sweet spot. Long enough to get you most places on a single charge at home except for the few long distance trips each year.

And even for those long distance trips 300 is a lot of time driving. It's 3-4 hours of driving before you charge. Split it up some and you stop every hour or two and use the bathroom and you don't even notice you're charging.

300 is the sweet spot if it's not winter and you don't have a heat pump because of the stupid decision to use the least efficient means of generating heat

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carlgreene 614 days ago
Do you know what this is due to?
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simne 614 days ago
To save costs and weight on battery, sure.

I don't know Chinese use cases, but in continental Europe many machines don't run full 500km every day, even many private made less then 100km per day, so they don't need 500km range. Not for all 200km enough, many need about 220km..300km for commute (two commutes per day, so could charge battery at parking).

So, with halved battery size, you will got cheaper EV and more space for passengers and luggage.

Large range is a must for business (semi)-cargo machines and for taxi.

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echelon 614 days ago
The Rivian delivery vehicles are super cool and futuristic.

Rivian is making some of the best looking EVs on the market.

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