Rivian Pushes R2 Into Volume Production as Customer Deliveries Are Set for June

The company says a fast R2 ramp is critical to meeting a 20,000–25,000 delivery target that management ties to its path back to profitability.

Overview

Rivian began volume, saleable production of the R2 at its Normal, Illinois plant on April 22, with employee handovers starting the same day and internal counts suggesting more than 500 saleable units have been built.
The company has reaffirmed that external customer deliveries will begin in June and R2 units have been photographed on car carriers en route to showrooms as Rivian prepares public test drives.
Rivian extended its full May R1 incentive package through June 4 and launched an R2 Priority Delivery offer that gives existing R1 owners and lessees first access to early R2 allocations to help defend retail volumes.
Management’s full-year guidance includes 20,000 to 25,000 R2 deliveries in 2026, a target that requires a sustained summer and autumn production and logistics ramp to hit the company’s overall delivery range.
Rivian will debut its next-generation operating system on the R2 and will stage LiDAR-equipped autonomy variants later this year, a rollout the company says supports customer features and the vehicle’s lower bill-of-materials that is meant to improve margins.