Recently, a Korean Instagram user uploaded spy shots of a Rivian R1T being road tested near an LG battery factory, further verifying the previous reports of Rivian’s procurement of LG batteries.
Rivian announced the delivery time for its R1 series vehicles last year. The pickup version R1T will be delivered in June this year, while the SUV model R1S will be delivered in August. These vehicles all have 300-mile range and 135 kWh battery capacity. The 180 kWh model will be delivered in January 2022.
Last week, Rivian shared the results of its winter testing. The R1 series batteries are cooled axially by a central cooling plate. There is no cooling device between each cell, which allows for tightly packed cells and increased energy density. The battery pack is heated by the heat generated by the drive system and inverter, instead of standalone heaters that consume more energy and increase costs.
Rivian claims that the battery pack can maintain a temperature above -10 degrees Celsius in extremely cold weather, ensuring vehicle performance in a controllable range. The vehicle can achieve full power output in just 20 minutes even in the lowest operating environment temperature of -40 degrees Celsius.
The R1 series is also a high-performance off-road vehicle with 4-electric-motor drive and low center of gravity from electrification. This winter testing calibrated the vehicle’s dynamics and adjusted the software, especially torque vectoring control and brake tuning for regenerative braking.
Since 2019, Rivian has received a total of $8 billion in investment, $2 billion of which comes from Amazon’s Climate Pledge Fund. It has reached an agreement with Amazon to supply 100,000 pure electric delivery vehicles by 2022.
Rivian, a startup electric vehicle company based in the United States, positions itself as an Electric Adventure Vehicle. Its unique product line targets the market gap between electric vehicles and outdoor recreational activities. Its small yet refined brand image and exquisite promotion methods have gained a certain level of attention among high-end consumers in the United States. Its main competitors are General Motors’ HUMMER EV and Tesla’s Cybertruck, both of which are expected to be delivered in 2022, later than the Rivian R1T.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.