Rivian R2’s $45,000 Starting Price Won’t Change, Despite Tariffs

• Rivian doesn’t plan to change the R2 crossover’s starting price of $45,000 in response to tariffs. 
• Rivian cut its delivery guidance for 2025 due in part to “evolving trade regulation.”
• The R2 is still on track to start production in Illinois in the first half of 2026.

Rivian doesn’t expect to change the upcoming R2 crossover’s starting price due to tariffs, the startup’s founder and CEO R.J. Scaringe said on a Tuesday earnings call. 

“This is just a dynamic situation, so I want to make sure we reflect that, but we’re not planning changes in our $45,000 starting price,” Scaringe said. “This is important for us, and there’s a number of variables that we are actively working on.”

Photo by: InsideEVs

Rivian executives on Tuesday said the Trump administration’s new tariffs could have wide-ranging impacts on its business. As they’ve reported earnings, several automakers, including Ford and General Motors, have raised alarm bells about the financial hit they’ll take due to new 25% import duties on vehicles and car parts. 

Rivian, for its part, said on Tuesday that “evolving trade regulations” and other policies could dent demand for its vehicles. As a result, it cut its 2025 delivery guidance to 40,000-46,000 vehicles, down from 46,000-51,000 units.

“We are not immune to the impacts of the global trade and economic situation, which we expect to impact material costs, material availability, capital expenditures and the demand backdrop,” Scaringe said, while noting that the company makes all of its vehicles in the U.S. 

Rivian delivered 51,579 vehicles last year and just over 50,000 in 2023, indicating that demand for its rugged and expensive R1S SUV and R1T truck is hitting a wall. Rivian is leaning on the upcoming R2, a smaller mass-market crossover that aims to do battle with the Tesla Model Y, for its next phase of growth. The R2 will be available in single-, dual- and tri-motor configurations, and targets a range of over 300 miles. 

In Tuesday’s letter to shareholders, the startup reaffirmed plans to start production of the R2 at its Normal, Illinois, plant in the first half of 2026. 

Scaringe reiterated the model’s importance to Rivian’s future on Tuesday’s earnings call, saying that in the first quarter, the automaker’s average selling price (ASP) landed at around $88,500. That includes the R1T pickup, R1S SUV and its commercial van. 

“So we have a very high ASP, which is a great thing on our flagship product,” he said. “But by virtue of that, the size of that market is just more limited.” 

President Trump slapped 25% tariffs on cars and car parts in early April and early May, respectively, in a pair of moves that will raise input costs and vehicle prices across the auto industry. He also placed high tariffs on an array of goods from China and raised taxes on foreign steel and aluminum, key inputs for automakers and their suppliers.

Scaringe said Rivian has enough lead time to strategize around the new policies ahead of the start of R2 production. 

One decision that should help it skirt tariffs: sourcing batteries domestically. The R2 will initially use South Korea-made batteries from LG Energy Solution. In 2027, Scaringe said, it’ll begin sourcing those same LG batteries from a facility in Arizona. 

Got a tip about the EV world? Contact the author: Tim.Levin@InsideEVs.com