Rivian raises 2026 outlook on strong R2 expectations

Rivian raised its full-year delivery forecast on July 2 to 65,000-70,000 vehicles, up several thousand from the previous range of 62,000-67,000; Thereafter, both second-quarter deliveries and production volumes exceeded Wall Street’s consensus estimates. Shares rose as much as 7% in pre-market trading after the revised estimates were shared. The automaker delivered 12,194 vehicles in the second quarter, well above the nearly 10,600 analysts expected, and produced 12,613 vehicles, also above estimates. The growth was attributed to continued strong demand for Rivian’s commercial vans and R1 models, as well as the start of deliveries of the long-awaited new R2 SUV. The R2, a smaller, cheaper model billed as a direct rival to Tesla’s Model Y, began production at Rivian’s Illinois factory in April and began shipping to customers the following June. Pricing currently remains at the premium end; It starts at $57,990 for the Launch Performance package, with the $53,990 Premium version expected to ship in late 2026. The $48,490 rear-wheel-drive Standard model is expected to launch in early 2027; Another $45,000 variant is planned for late 2027, matching the price point initially envisioned by Rivian as the sweet spot for mass-market adoption. Achieving the new target will, of course, require an increase in volumes; At midyear, Rivian still needs a ballpark of around 45,000 additional deliveries to get there. The automaker hasn’t specifically said how many units of the R2 will be released, although that largely depends on the new model. Before the overhaul, Chief Financial Officer Claire McDonough had offered guidance of delivering R20,000-25,000 for the year. Rivian began producing the R2 at its Illinois factory in April 2026. The upgrade comes despite an unforgiving market for electric vehicles (EVs) in the US. The elimination of the $7,500 federal tax credit and rollback of supportive environmental rules has significantly weakened demand, driving many potential electric vehicle buyers to hybrid and internal combustion engine options instead. Rivian confirms it will remain an exclusively electric vehicle manufacturer; Its shares are still down nearly 13% for the year, even after recent gains. Rivian needs to build a fast and profitable EV business: Its mounting losses have led to repeated layoffs over the past two years. The latest cuts, covering nearly 300 positions, or about 2% of the workforce, come just a week after R2 deliveries began. This was the automaker’s fourth round of layoffs since 2024, following 600 layoffs in October 2025, and Chief Executive RJ Scaringe called service capacity, where wait times reached 50 days during the R1 launch, the company’s most significant vulnerability. In the long term, Rivian is banking on autonomy as well as volume. Uber has committed to investing up to US$1.25 billion in the company as part of a deal covering R2-based robotaxis, with reported deployment figures ranging from 10,000 units from 2028 to up to 50,000 for the rest of the decade. This would theoretically provide a modest demand base for the automotive business, but would fall short of the volumes that would help achieve gross profitability in 2027.

Information: This content was prepared and published using AutomobileMagazine’s artificial intelligence-supported publishing system, in line with the information shared by international automotive manufacturers and reliable press sources.