I really like their cars, but they’re not practical replacements for a full size pickup truck (as the F-150 Lightning is).
Anyway, they’re competing more with range rover and jeep than trucks, which is fine (and also a mostly-unaddressed segment).
Anyway, they’re competing more with range rover and jeep than trucks, which is fine (and also a mostly-unaddressed segment).
Why not? I’ve done “truck stuff” in a Rivian, like towing a 5 ton car trailer over the Sierra Nevadas. They have the same towing capacity and the Rivian has better battery range. They also cost the same similarly equipped. What’s the issue?
I own a Ridgeline. The bed is fine for chucking some camping gear, but it's nowhere near long enough for lumber, sheetrock, etc. Mountain bikes don't fit upright, even with the front wheel off.
The Rivian is 17" longer overall than a Maverick and 7" longer than the Honda. It's bed is really small - fine for casual use, but hardly suitable for "working truck stuff". And that's not the market Rivian is targeting, so that's fine.
It’s good for typical suburban pickup truck uses though and could be a good farm truck since you could just charge it at home.
We are not anywhere near where the infrastructure is ready for EV pickup trucks to be practical for a large number of people that currently need them. We may get there some day, but not for decades without a huge breakthrough in battery charging technology or manhattan project level investment in charging infrastructure.
Don't those sound like places you'd want to drive something like a pickup truck?
Also, the grid isn't ready for everyone to have electric vehicles using fast chargers. A heat wave takes down the grids of entire states.
If you go camping in those areas, you have to make a 3 hour charging detour on the return leg. There are no public chargers in the nearest towns or on the main road into the area.
If you rent a cabin, you can probably run a charger out the window. Rent a condo at the ski lodge? Not sure, they didn't have chargers a few years ago, but might toady.
https://www.experian.com/blogs/insights/wp-content/uploads/2...
I camp in the Appalachians regularly, from DC. There a quite a few spots I can't get to without a 3 hour charging detour (2 hours charge time, 1 hour road detour to get to EV station) on the return leg. And that's for areas that are only 3-4 hours away (one direction). [this was using ABRP and a mid-range Riviant R1T]
These are different problems.
The F-150 Lightning is also a very good truck, and it gets to capitalize on the F-150 brand and customer base.
They addressed a gap in the market (smaller electric truck) rather than trying to go head-to-head with the biggest full-size truck brand in the industry.
Smart move.
I was interested in a Rivian until I saw one in person and saw how short that bed was. It wasn't the first spec I'd looked at on paper, but jumped out in-person. In that size I'd probably go cheap with a Maverick hybrid for now until there are more full-EV competitors.