The CEO of American electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Rivian has claimed that the company’s upcoming electric crossover, the R3, will be priced “materially lower” than the R2 SUV, with the follow-up model to be priced even lower again.

Speaking in a wide-ranging interview with The New York Times, Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe was asked about whether his company was aiming to make a car with a lower price point.

“The next product, which we creatively call R3, is going to take the price point down,” said Scaringe.

“We haven’t announced pricing yet, but it will move materially lower. There’s a product beyond that, called R4, which again moves that further.”

First announced in early 2024 but with pricing and specifications only unveiled earlier this year, the R2 is a mid-size electric SUV that the company is hoping will open the door to a “significantly broader audience without losing what makes Rivian unmistakably Rivian.”

The first R2 to launch was the R2 Performance with Launch Package starting at $US57,990 (before applicable taxes and fees) which, if it were to ever come to Australia, would convert at current prices to over $A80,000.

Progressively cheaper variants were promised to be rolled out over the coming year, starting with the R2 Premium at $US53,990, an entry-level Standard model due in the first half of 2027 with a starting price of $US48,490, and the much heralded $US45,000 Standard RWD model that isn’t due until late next year.

This all means that Scaringe’s claim of a price point “materially lower” than the R2 could mean a handful of things: Will it be ‘materially lower’ than the top-of-the-line R2 or next year’s $US45,000 variant?

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