Rivian Cuts Base Explore Trim; Prices Rise By Around $5,500

Some Rivian reservation holders aren’t happy campers.

The Rivian R1S and R1T, like many EVs seemingly, just got more expensive. Originally starting at $67,500 for a base Adventure trimmed R1T, the base price is now $5,500 more expensive, at $73,000. How? Well, Rivian cut the base Explore trim. Anyone interested in a RIvian R1T or Rivian R1S, must pony up to the more expensive Adventure trim level.

Rivian claims that low demand shunted the base Explore trim. “When we initially launched our vehicles, we planned for two packages, Adventure and Explore, to offer more variety to our customers. The Explore Package was designed as our entry option and it was our expectation that a large number of customers would choose it. To date, only a small percentage of customers have chosen this configuration, with the vast majority selecting the Adventure trim. By focusing on the Adventure trim package, we’re able to streamline our supply chain and ultimately deliver vehicles more quickly,” Rivian said in a statement to reservation holders.

Customers who have reservations for the Explore trim can upgrade to the Adventure trim, but there is a price difference. If the customer doesn’t make a decision by September 1, their reservation will be removed from the build queue. Rivian is refunding customers who choose to step out of the reservation queue.

Given the fact that Rivian has had production issues, removing a hard-to-make, low-demand trim may make things easier on themselves. But, the price hike does put the Rivian closer to not qualifying at all for the revised EV tax credit rules from the Inflation Reduction Act.

Discuss this story on our Rivian Forum.

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