Rivian has been giving a lot to talk about for several years, especially about the North American market, which is where they are only sold today. However, it has already been confirmed that in the coming years they will make the leap towards the European continent taking advantage of the launch of their new range, the so-called R2 and R3. At the official presentation of these cars, many praised the brand and the product itself for many reasons. However, in a final intervention by its CEO, RJ Scaringeas published from the media InsideEVshas poured cold water on his followers.
During the said presentation, there were many of these data that were left in the air. However, some of them were taken for granted, such as the integration of a 800 or even 900 volt electrical architecturewhich would favor the ability to recharge their batteries with greater power. However, this could ultimately not be the case and resort to a cheaper alternative.
Rivian may not include the most technological architecture in its future R2 and R3
It was in a round table with journalists where the company’s top manager clarified this doubt. The CEO has seen fit to state that “there are high benefits in using the 800-volt architecture” and that “these are really important for high-capacity batteries.” This directly points to the fact that the batteries that will integrate R2 and R3 may not be as limited by voltage as they are by the chemistry itself.
“In the R2 the change is not so critical. We’ve further optimized the R2 for cost to ensure we deliver great performance, but at competitive prices. I don’t think it’s that important in such a small vehicle.”stated RJ Scaringe in his speech.
Therefore, it remains in doubt whether the new R2 or R3 will have a high-voltage architecture, since the CEO did not specifically confirm or deny such a possibility. However, after the aforementioned intervention, it is more than likely that these end up using the 400 volt oneas he seemed quite convinced that it would not be necessary to insert the 800 volts into these cars.
“The R1s will have to make the transition to an 800 or 900 volt configuration,” said the CEO, making it clear which models should adopt such capacity. Despite this, he did not state when this novelty will be included, since everything indicates that we will have to wait for its possible generational renewal to see it.
With all this, Scaringe states that “although an 800-volt pack can offer high charging powers, in most small or medium-sized vehicles, voltage is not the limiter.” To this he also added: “We believe that, ultimately, loading times should be less than 20 minutes between 10 and 80%. We agree 100% on that. But it is that can also be achieved with 400 volts”.
The R2 and R3 should land in the North American market around 2027 or 2028. It will be a few months before that when all the mechanical details that these electric SUVs will include are revealed. Europe, for its part, should take a few additional months to begin sales.
#Rivian #CEO #electric #cars #coming #Europe #key #technology
