The Driven

They might still be a little way off from bursting onto the local auto market, but the CEO and founder of electric ute and SUV startup Rivian is already thinking about how to share the love in wide open spaces like Australia.

With “range anxiety” often cited as a concern for electric vehicles – particularly those who want to go off the beaten track – Rivian’s high-capacity R1T ute and R1S SUV will offer a number of battery pack sizes ranging from 105kWh with over 370km range, up to a hefty 180kWh with a serious 660km range.

That in itself is heart-warming news for those concerned that EVs will “ruin the weekend” – but it gets better than that.

Rivian’s visionary CEO RJ Scaringe, whose electric utes (or pickups) and SUVs made headlines when first unveiled at last year’s LA Auto Show, has now also said that Rivian will install electric car chargers in out-of-the-way places so that adventurers can travel to remote places safe in the knowledge they will be able to get a boost of electrons when they get there.

Pointing out that mobile phone coverage was also once sparse, Scaringe says in an rare interview with Drive, that “the kids born today won’t know a world in 15 years” where there isn’t charging infrastructure everywhere.

“Part of the infrastructure we’re going to build is in those remote locations, so it’s easy to pick up electrons when you’re farther from urban areas,” he said.

To read the full story on RenewEconomy’s electric vehicle dedicated site, The Driven, click here…