Rivian reports ‘over’ 100,000 R2 reservations for 2026 launch – Rivian Automotive (NASDAQ:RIVN)

Electric vehicle company Rivian Automobile Incl. RIVN shared a new milestone for vehicle reservations for the highly anticipated R2 SUV coming in 2026.

What happened: Rivian unveiled the R2 SUV in March as a sub-$50,000 electric vehicle that should help the company increase supplies and demand and have a competitive vehicle to Tesla Inc. TSLA Model Y.

The company recently announced that more than 100,000 pre-orders for the R2 had already been placed ahead of the vehicle’s launch.

“We have over 100,000 pre-orders for R2,” said Rivian Vice President of Manufacturing Tim Fallon he said during a company event, as reported by Electrek.

Fallon said new improvements at Rivian’s factory in Normal will increase production by about 30%.

“As we really push R1 and R1 gen 2 and continue to release our current product, pre-orders for R2 continue to increase.”

Reservations for the R2 reached 68,000 in March, a day after the vehicle was officially unveiled. In four months, the vehicle has now surpassed 100,000 reservations, adding another 32,000 reservations.

Also Read: Rivian Investor Day Highlights: CEO Scaringe Takes Aim at Amazon, Tesla Partnerships, Says EV Charging Network Will Open This Summer

Why it’s important: There are three versions of the R2 planned, each with over 300 miles of range. The vehicle has a starting price of $45,000.

“I am so excited about this vehicle,” said Rivian CEO RJ Scare said during the unveiling.

Scaringe said the R2 will help the company scale and increase production flexibility with a new platform.

The $45,000 starting price is comparable to that of Tesla’s Model Y SUV, but this price also comes several years after the Tesla vehicle has already been on the market.

Delivery of the R2 is currently expected in the first half of 2026.

Rivian reported 9,612 vehicles produced and 13,790 delivered in the second quarter. The numbers were in line with the company’s expectations but down year-over-year.

The electric vehicle company is delaying construction of a new factory in Georgia to focus on production at its Normal, Illinois, plant and to concentrate on cost control.

RIVN Price promotion: Rivian shares are trading at $17.21, compared with a trading range of $8.26 to $28.06 over the last 52 weeks. Rivian shares have fallen 33.3% in the past year and are down 26.6% year-to-date in 2024.

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Photo: R2 Rivian