Rivian will open its first ‘Spaces’ showroom in Canada on July 28. The showroom will be located at The Amazing Brentwood shopping mall in Burnaby, Vancouver.
This year Rivian is focused on upping its physical retail presence, with the majority of the buying experience taking place online up until now. The first Rivian Space was opened in downtown New York last month. Each Space aims to offer the consumer a casual experience with no hard selling.
All Rivian Spaces will be somewhat unique. For example, a planned Space in Austin, Texas will have a rooftop patio and green area. Meanwhile, another Rivian Space in Laguna Beach, California will be built out of an old theater.
The Burnaby, Vancouver Rivian Space will be the first to have augmented reality, allowing customers to visualize their individual configurations.
Rivian’s two current models, the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV, will be joined by a couple more affordable ‘R2’ options soon. The R2 lineup will be unveiled in full next year and will likely consist of a crossover and Ford Maverick-sized pickup truck.
Prices for Rivian’s R2 vehicles are expected to range from $40,000 to $60,000. This represents a significant decrease from the $70,000 to $100,000 price bracket the R1T and R1S fall under.
On top of upping its retail presence, Rivian is working hard on providing its customers with plentiful access to fast charging. The Rivian Adventure Network aims to cover lots of remote areas in North America, with the first three sites opening up last year. Meanwhile, a new deal with Tesla will give Rivian customers full access to the EV pioneer’s 12,000+ Superchargers from 2024 onwards.
