It’s confirmed! Rivian R2 electric SUV is coming to the UK

It has been officially confirmed to DrivingElectric that the much-hyped Rivian R2 electric SUV will be coming to the UK, marking the American start-up's first foray into the British EV market.

In case you weren’t aware, Rivian is a new American EV brand touted as a huge threat to Tesla’s market dominance. Back in the U.S, it already sells the Rivian R1S – a huge electric off-roader, similar to the forthcoming Range Rover Electric – as well as the R1T – an electric pickup truck which is currently succeeding at stealing sales away from the likes of the Tesla Cybertruck and Ford F-150 Lightning.

The Rivian R2, as mentioned, will be the brand’s first non-commercial vehicle model to be sold on this side of the Atlantic and will also be its smallest yet. Don’t go expecting a new rival to the dinky Jeep Avenger, though; the R2 will instead take the form of an electric family SUV, similar in size to the UK’s best-selling EV, the Tesla Model Y.

Unlike the smooth-looking Tesla, the Rivian R2 will instead adopt the same brutish, upright stance as its larger R1S and R1T siblings. Teaser images already showcase how the new model will get Rivian’s trademark ‘Stadium’ front headlights, which comprise two oval-shaped main headlight units, joined by a sweeping LED light bar.

Yet, despite looking very much like other, larger models in the Rivian line-up, the R2 will instead be built upon all-new, never-before-seen underpinnings. With this in mind, it’s unclear whether the R2 will share the same battery technology as Rivian R1 models, although we suspect the enormous 121kWh, 135kWh and 180kWh ‘battery packs will be too large to fit on the R2. 

Instead, we could see the R2 get the R1S’ entry-level 106kWh ‘Standard' battery unit, which we suspect should be more than enough for an electric range in surplus of 350 miles. We think this is a more than reasonable estimate, especially given the much larger Rivian R1S can cover 270 miles with the same setup.

Even entry-level Rivian models in the US come fitted as standard with two electric motors and four-wheel drive, however, the R2 could be the brand’s first model to be offered with a single-motor powertrain. Regardless, a dual-motor option will undoubtedly also be offered, though it almost certainly won’t be anywhere near as powerful as the quad-motor R1S and R1T models, which both output 824bhp.

We haven’t got long to wait to find out as the Rivian R2 is confirmed to be unveiled on 7 March – then, we’re likely to discover exact specifications, along with precisely what the new car will look like. A timeline for when the Rivian R2 will come to the UK is yet to be confirmed, although when it does arrive, we suspect it’ll start from around £45,000 – putting it in-line with rivals such as the aforementioned Model Y, as well as the Volkswagen ID.4 and forthcoming Ford Explorer.