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    Sunday, May 12, 2024

    Rivian to deliver $75,000 electric truck in June, complete with 300-mile range and vegan leather seats

    Rivian R1T. (Ben Moon/Rivan/TNS)

    Rivian is moving from concept car to reality.

    The electric truck startup, which has been building out its factory in Normal, Ill., will begin taking orders on its inaugural models this month, with deliveries starting in June on a special Launch Edition version.

    There are three vehicle packages for both the R1T truck and R1S SUV, offered in nine adventurous-sounding colors such as Red Canyon, El Cap Granite and Glacier White. All models have 300-plus miles of range, go from zero to 60 mph in 3 seconds and have vegan leather seats.

    The launch package starts at $75,000 for the truck and $77,500 for the SUV, offset by a $7,500 federal tax credit for electric vehicles.

    Customers who preordered can begin configuring their vehicle Nov. 16, while others will have to wait until Nov. 23. Rivian requires a refundable $1,000 deposit to order.

    "This helps us to predict the demand and locks in your order," Rivian spokeswoman Amy Mast said. "It's affirming that you're serious."

    Originally set to begin production this year, Rivian was delayed by the pandemic. In addition to the launch version in June, two other equipment packages will roll off the line in January 2022.

    The Adventure is priced the same as the Launch Edition, with similar options, but takes seven months longer for delivery. The Explore has fewer options and starts at $67,500 for the truck and $70,000 for the SUV.

    Rivian has not announced the delivery date for a base version of the truck and SUV, which will be priced "substantially lower" than the three packages currently offered on the website, Mast said.

    Legacy and startup automakers alike have hundreds of electric vehicles in the development pipeline, with industry projections that EV sales will surpass traditional internal combustion engines by 2030.

    Ford is investing more than $3.2 billion at its North American manufacturing facilities to gear up for EV production. The automaker unveiled its all-electric E-Transit cargo van Thursday, which will be built at its Kansas City Assembly Plant. The van, which will sell for a starting price under $45,000, is expected to arrive in late 2021.

    Ford is planning to build an all-electric F-150 pickup truck at its Dearborn, Mich.-based Rouge Center by mid-2022. Pricing for the truck will be set closer to its release, the company said.

    General Motors' first entry into the electric truck arena will be the GMC Hummer EV, a brawny battery-powered rebirth of the bygone gas guzzler. The inaugural model is expected to launch in fall 2021 with a 350-plus-mile range, zero to 60 mph acceleration in 3 seconds and a price tag starting at $112,595.

    Three other versions of the Hummer EV are slated to roll out over the next few years, with the least expensive due in Spring 2024, priced at $79,995.

    The GMC Hummer EV along with multiple other models will be built at the Detroit-Hamtramck assembly plant. GM is investing $2.2 billion investment in the plant, which will be at the center of its EV manufacturing operations.

    Founded 10 years ago, Plymouth, Mich-based Rivian is building electric trucks in a converted Mitsubishi plant, and has raised about $6 billion from investors.

    In addition to the truck and SUV, Rivian is building 100,000 electric delivery vans for Amazon, which are expected to begin hitting the road next year. Amazon initially invested $440 million in Rivian in February 2019, and has participated in multiple investment rounds since then, Mast said.

    Rivian has about 550 employees in Normal and more than 3,000 overall, including its offices in Michigan and California, Mast said. The plant is expected to have about 1,000 workers when production begins.

    The company will receive $4 million in local incentives and about $50 million in state tax credits over 15 years if it meets employment and investment targets at the Normal facility. Those goals include creating 1,000 jobs by 2024.

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