Rivian coming to Oz ‘one way or another’, order books open
Rivian electric pick-up trucks and SUVs soon to hit the American market are already available to order in Australia.
Queensland-based conversion company SDC Remanufactured Vehicles and its associated retailer AUS MV has begun talks with Rivian and says it plans to sell the futuristic all-electric pickup trucks and SUVs in Australia.
“One way or another, the Rivian will be coming to Australia, whether it’s manufactured in right-hand drive or it needs to be remanufactured in right-hand drive,” AUS MV co-owner Eddie Kocwa told EV Central. “One way or another it’ll be coming to Australia.”
Kocwa said discussions are continuing – backing up earlier comments by an engineer that Rivians would eventually come to Australia – and the Rivians were available to order.
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“We’ve taken pre-orders. Basically what we’re taking is securing your spot in the queue,” he says of the Rivians, which are developed with investment from online retailing giant Amazon and car maker Ford, which has a competitor in the F-150 Lightning.
That backing has prompted some industry experts to rate Rivian as one of the EV start-ups most likely to succeed and take the EV fight to Tesla.
Until recently AUS MV had listed the Rivian R1T and R1S ute and SUV as available for pre-order on its website, but they were recently removed.
Kocwa says the company is still taking pre-orders but that the Rivians would soon be listed on a new associated EV-only website called AUS EV, which is expected to be live within weeks.
One challenge could be getting hold of vehicles. Rivian has already delayed delivery of its vehicles once and in the last few days it told soon-to-be-owners production had again be delayed until September 2021.
The R1T and R1S – truck and SUV – use the same in-house-designed skateboard architecture that bundles batteries into the chassis.
There are four 147kW/350Nm motors making a combined 588kW and 1400Nm, which Rivian says will propel the truck to 60 miles per hour (96km/h) in three seconds.
Tow capacity is claimed to be five tonnes and the range is about 500km.
The Rivians also have an innovative range of accessories that include a slide-out kitchenette and various camping options.
Through SCD, AUS MV – denoting Australian Manufactured Vehicles – already converts many vehicles to right-hand drive, including the Chevrolet Camaro, Ford F-150 and Ram 1500.
The company would use its national network of AUS MV retailers that is expanding and planned to cover every state in Australia while utilising Ultra Tune for servicing and warranty.
Kocwa also wants to tempt some of the new brands emerging around the world to his growing network through the promise of national support and coverage.
“We’re positioning ourselves to be a distributor for all these new brands that are popping up that need distribution in Australia and New Zealand,” he says. “They’re going to need a partner with someone who can distribute it for them and who already has sites.”
Rivian is near the top of his hit list, such is the interest in the brand.
Kocwa told us “discussions are under way” with Rivian’s head office; there are multiple head offices, including in California, Michigan and Illinois, the latter also the location of the production line that’s currently ramping up.
But he would not elaborate on whether Rivians would be come from the factory with the steering wheel on the right or whether his associated conversion business SCD would “remanufacture” the cars locally by converting them.
“If it’s made right-hand drive, we’ve got the network to distribute it,” says Kocwa. “If they want to do a deal with us and we remanufacture, that’s cool too. Or if they decide … ‘we don’t want to enter the right-hand drive market’, we still go through our original avenue of purchasing them, bringing them over, remanufacturing to right-hand drive, do it without factory support.
“No matter what happens, a Rivian is coming to Australia.”
He admits the Rivians will be a “the premium end of the pick-up truck market” – so think well into six figures – but that there’s enough interest to sustain the investment in selling them locally.
“I’m surprised about the amount of interest in this vehicle. They’ve built a bit of a following overseas.”
In America, the R1T ute starts at US$67,500 ($91,000), although by the time local conversion costs, taxes and other charges are factored in prices can easily approach double the prices in the US.
