Rivian’s sales pop as the company’s big R2 bet starts to pay off

Rivian reported third-quarter production and delivery figures that show the automaker's bet on its more affordable R2 vehicle is gaining traction. The company said it produced 19,751 vehicles and delivered 19,248 during the quarter, an 85 percent year-over-year rise in production and a 45 percent increase in deliveries. For a direct-to-consumer automaker like Rivian, deliveries serve as a proxy for sales. Rivian also reaffirmed its full-year 2026 guidance of 65,000 to 70,000 deliveries.

Rivian has not disclosed how many of those deliveries were R2 vehicles. The company has said it expects full-year deliveries for its R1 lineup, made up of the R1T truck and R1S SUV, and its electric delivery van to stay flat compared with last year. Rivian delivered more than 13,000 vehicles in last year's third quarter. If R1 and van volumes held steady, roughly 6,000 R2 vehicles reached customers in the quarter. Rivian has told investors it expects to sell more than 25,000 R2s in the vehicle's first year of production, a figure that would place it among the fastest launches of a new electric vehicle in US history.

The results stand out against a broader electric vehicle market that has contracted over the past year. President Trump and Republicans in Congress eliminated the $7,500 federal EV tax credit, and EV sales have fallen sharply since. Cox Automotive data cited in the report shows overall EV sales were down nearly 24 percent year-over-year as of September 2026. Tesla, meanwhile, reported a 2.1 percent decline in third-quarter sales, a result that still came in better than expected.

Rivian has framed the R2 as central to its future as an independent company. CEO RJ Scaringe said earlier this year that the R2 is the most important thing Rivian has because it moves the company from being a subscale manufacturer to a scaled one. The pressure behind that comment reflects Rivian's position as a smaller player attempting to reach higher volume.

The sales report follows other recent news from the company. Rivian announced that the R2 met its climate goal of cutting lifetime emissions by 50 percent, reaching that target four years ahead of schedule. The combination of rising deliveries and the emissions milestone gives Rivian a pair of positive data points as it works to scale production of its newest vehicle.

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