Rivian CEO RJ Scaringe says the R3 will be priced well below the R2, and that a future R4 will cost less still.
"We haven't announced pricing yet, but it will move materially lower," Scaringe told The New York Times in a Corner Office interview published the weekend of September 20. He said the R4 "again moves that further."
The R2 is Rivian's entry point today. The $57,990 Performance launch edition is shipping now, a $53,990 Premium follows later in 2026, a $48,490 Standard Long Range comes in early 2027, and a $45,000 rear-drive Standard arrives in late 2027. Which R2 counts as the baseline matters, Electrek noted, since "materially lower" could mean different things against a $57,990 car or a $45,000 one. Scaringe has previously placed the R3 in the "mid to high 30s," and in a 2024 interview with Top Gear, he said Rivian was targeting $35,000 to $40,000, CBT News reported.
A hatchback from a rally-car mood board
Rivian revealed the R3 in March 2024, alongside the R2 and a performance version called the R3X. The R3 is smaller than the R2 and wears a retro-looking hatchback body.
Rivian design chief Jeff Hammoud has said the design team's image boards held the Lancia Delta Integrale and the Audi Quattro, two 1980s rally cars. Hammoud said the brief to the design team "was like, we need this to be our Solo Rally Car," according to InsideEVs, citing Road & Track. The car needed "more of that nostalgic feeling where it looks modern, but where it looks like it's from the future, and the past, at the same time," Hammoud said.
Rivian says the R3 shares its battery options with the R2, with the larger pack good for more than 300 miles. The quickest version reaches 60 mph in under 3 seconds.
When it arrives
The R3 will be built at Rivian's Georgia factory, where production is scheduled to begin in 2028. The plant is planned for 400,000 vehicles a year across two phases.
The R4 is further out. Scaringe has described it and a sibling R5 as vehicles on an entirely new platform, and has said no engineering teams were working on them yet, Electrek reported.
Sources:
Scaringe's New York Times comments, R2 pricing and timing, the Georgia plant, and the R4: Electrek
The R3 price comments, Scaringe's earlier "mid to high 30s" estimate, and the Top Gear target: CBT News
R3 battery, range, and acceleration: Rivian
Jeff Hammoud on the rally-car inspiration: InsideEVs
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Jeffrey Wiley has spent more time than he'd like to admit thinking about what makes a car look right. He writes about automotive design, car culture, and the opinions people have strong feelings about. He lives in north Georgia.
