Electric vehicle manufacturer Rivian sent one of its automobiles to Augusta last week, the first item by the company to be owned in the area.
“I think it’s the way everything is going,” said Wayne Brown, CEO of scuba touring company Aggressor Adventures, who had a 2022 Rivian R1T delivered to him on April 11.
Rivian currently has two vehicles on the market: the R1S, an SUV; and the R1T, a pickup truck. The latter is souped up with cameras, radars and ultrasonic sensors (11, five and 12, respectively) all part of its sophisticated hardware and software system that does not include a combustion engine.
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Each wheel is powered by an electric motor, altogether operating at more than 830 horsepower. The battery pack caps at 300 miles. One can charge it from an outlet via a Rivian Wall Charger and re-up about three miles an hour. A device called a Rivian Level 2 Charger can use about 240 volts to provide the truck around 25 miles worth of power per hour; and the Level 3, or “DC Fast” Chargers, can add up to 140 miles worth of power every 20 minutes, according to the Rivian website.
“There’s a term out there in the electric car market called ‘range anxiety,’” said Brown, referring to the fear among potential electric vehicle drivers of using up power and getting stranded on the road.
Brown notes, however, that for the average driver, a 300-mile range is good for about two weeks, especially if one is charging every night.
“I think as people get used to the fact that you can’t just stop at a gas station for five minutes, but you might have to stop at a Level 3 Charger for 20, I think it might be OK,” he said.
Much like its competitor Tesla, Rivian does not yet have a dealership model. Brown ordered his online three years ago, and it was delivered from Rivian’s manufacturing plant in Normal, Ill., which launched last summer after construction began in 2019. In December of last year, Rivian announced that it was building a manufacturing plant in Georgia, investing $5 billion in a battery-production facility east of Atlanta, in Morgan and Walton Counties, according to its website. That site is scheduled to begin construction this summer, to be complete by 2024.
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The Rivian has a host of other bells and whistles, including an all-digital system that recognizes drivers by their phone, eliminating the need for a key. The R1T has eight modes ranging from off-road and tow mode; a self-driving capability that, between the sensors and regenerative braking system, allows the truck to start and stop behind vehicles and traffic lights; plenty of storage space opened by the lack of an engine; and the ability to go from zero to 60 mph within three seconds.
One reason Brown says he seriously invested in an all-electric vehicle was hearing from friends who owned similar vehicles, like those from Prius and Tesla, about how few practical or mechanical issues arise after going electric.
But Brown chose a Rivian truck, in particular, over Ford’s all-electric model, the F-150 Lightning, for more philosophical reasons, saying, “I’ve always believed, and I would defend this forever, that if you develop a product from the ground up, it’s always going to be a better product than taking something else and trying to try to change.”
Skyler Q. Andrews is a staff reporter covering education in Columbia County and business-related topics for The Augusta Press. Reach him at skyler@theaugustapress.com.
