Rivian has often demonstrated its trucks off-road abilities.
On top of a typical network of stations, Rivian will build an Adventure Network.
This is a topic that we’ve discussed a few times internally. We think it’s great that many automakers, of every type, have revealed off-road capable electric vehicles however once playtime is over, where will they get a charge to head back home? Rivian has thought this through and will launch its own Adventure Network.
Every day, we hear about OEMs launching partnerships with third-party charging networks in order to deliver a charging “safety net” to their EV buyers. While Rivian trucks will be able to charge up on these networks, Rivian founder and CEO RJ Scaringe shared with TechCrunch his plans for an unusual charging network:
“We’re excited about the opportunity to create Rivian charging locations that aren’t on the interstate, that help draw you or enable you to go to places that normally are not the kinds of places that invite or welcome electric vehicles because of charging infrastructure,” Scaringe said. “We’ve spent a lot of time thinking about how you can essentially create these curated drives where, depending on your point of interest, you can pick different paths. If you want to stop midway through the trip for a one-mile, two-mile, or five-mile hike, you know, here’s a route that you want to take, and here’s a charging location right next to it.”
Rivian R1S | Photo: Rivian
The upside to this plan, on top of serving Rivian owners, is that these stations will be available to non-Rivian vehicle owners, unlike Tesla’s supercharger network.
The exact number of chargers was not divulged however many should be online by next summer when the first R1T pickups and R1S SUVs are expected to be delivered.
