Rivian’s R2 vehicle launch date appears to leak in town council minutes

Rivian’s R2 vehicle launch date appears to leak in town council minutes

Photo by Daniel Golson for The Verge

City council members in Laguna Beach, California met last night prepared to approve a request (PDF) from Rivian to park six vehicles on the grass in a city park for a March 7th “R2 launch.” The company appears to be planning to officially announce its forthcoming electric SUV, the R2, which is supposed to be smaller and more affordable than its current lineup of EVs.

A local community publication called Stu News Laguna reported yesterday that a small item on the city council’s consent calendar showed that it was planning to approve the event in a single motion along with many other agenda items. The six vehicles Rivian wants to park are “for informational purposes only,” Stu News writes.

Although the filing itself doesn’t mention specifically what the “worldwide launch event” is for, a diagram at the bottom of the planned layout for the cars reads “RIVIAN R2 LAUNCH v11.pln,” which is... pretty straightforward.

Rivian doesn’t seem to have made any official announcement around that date just yet, but the company recently took over a building called South Coast Theater near the spot where the vehicles would be parked. Now named Rivian South Coast Theater, it serves as the company’s “first flagship retail location.” A spokesperson for the company declined to comment.

We opened our Rivian South Coast Theater with an evening of storytelling featuring “Long Way Up” director David Alexanian, architect James McGrath, the 2023 @rebellerally winners, and filmmaker @benmoon in conversation with @RJScaringe. Watch here: https://t.co/aHjOYxuB6C pic.twitter.com/zEUPpK7qY9

— Rivian (@Rivian) January 23, 2024

The company’s R2 platform will undergird its next vehicle, which is expected to go into production as soon as 2026. Rivian has said one of the first vehicles will be a smaller SUV priced between $40,000 and $60,000. The current lineup of R1 vehicles each start at around $80,000.

Rivian has also said it aims to slash the carbon footprint of its next-gen vehicles by increasing the amount of recycled materials and by using more renewable energy in its manufacturing process.