The R2 is merely the starting point. Rivian's future over the next ten years is already being mapped out.
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The 2027 Rivian R2 has only recently started appearing on roads, but the electric vehicle startup has numerous future products in the pipeline. During the media drive for the R2 Performance, we had a chance to speak with Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe, discussing the timeline for other R2 versions such as the R2T pickup, the R3 compact SUV, RAD-tuned models, and the forthcoming R4 and R5 vehicles. Here is what we have discovered.
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Taking On More Than Rivian Can Handle
The Rivian team's approach to product development has shifted considerably since the launch of the R1T, R1S, and RCV. As Scaringe explains, "within the same three-month period, and in the middle of COVID, and then into a supply chain crisis. It was impossibly hard, and we were digging ourselves out of all the complexity we inserted instantly."
That experience has guided the current product rollout schedule, which will see the R2 introduced with limited configurations and manufacturing complexity through the summer of 2027. "The version of me from seven years ago would have been launching R2, R3, and R3X all at the same time because I love product and want to see them all as fast as possible, but recognizing there's so much demand for R2, we [decided to] satisfy that very large backlog of demand as we got ourselves operationally ready to launch these other things," said Scaringe.
For now, the R2s will be manufactured at the company's Normal, Illinois, facility on a production line separate from the R1 and RCV. Equipped in this manner, the plant can produce around 160,000 R2s annually. Groundbreaking has taken place at Rivian's Stanton Springs, Georgia, site, where it aims to manufacture 300,000 R2s and R3s each year. While the land has been cleared for this factory, vertical construction of the buildings had not commenced as of April 2026, and current projections indicate that the first Georgia-built R2 will not come off the assembly line until 2028.
R3 on the Horizon
What comes next? According to Scaringe, "We think the next thing beyond R2 that will unlock the most market force as actually being R3. Future variants may come, but they would come subsequent to R3."
Given the situation with Rivian Georgia, that places production of the R3 into 2028 at the earliest, likely as a 2029 model. If Scaringe's timeline holds, it also means that other "variants" of the R2 and R3 are unlikely to reach the roads until 2029 at the earliest.
We anticipate seeing several variants—along with two new products, the Rivian R4 and R5—once the Georgia factory is finished. We do not yet know what form the R4 or R5 will take; there have been previous rumors about a Rivian "Adventure Van," but we would be surprised if it ever becomes a reality.
As for the R2, a pickup version is nearly guaranteed to happen around the end of the decade. "We have an R1T, so it doesn't take a whole lot of imagination to say, 'What if we had an R2T?'" said Scaringe.
Before that, however, will be the R2 Robotaxi. Rivian and Uber announced a partnership to deploy 10,000 driverless R2s for the ride-hailing service by 2028 in San Francisco and Miami. Uber has also agreed to option 40,000 more R2 Robotaxis in 2030 if the initial trial proves successful, with the goal of rolling out autonomous Rivians internationally.