How the R2 Was Built to Scale
The plan: Reduce costs by 50 percent but retain everything customers love about a Rivian.
STRUCTURE
SUSPENSION
BATTERY
ELECTRICAL
The R2’s suspension system is simpler than the R1’s, allowing the company to save 72 percent while still offering a vehicle capable of off-roading.
The vehicle’s battery pack, made up of many small cells, doesn’t just hold energy—it also serves as the floor of the R2, protecting against side impacts in a collision.
Rivian calls this module at the back of the battery pack the treehouse. It consolidates high-voltage and low-voltage components. The R2 requires 2.3 miles less wiring than the latest gen R1 vehicles.
The structure of the R2 has a unibody construction, similar to the way a Toyota RAV4 or Subaru Forester is built. That’s different from the body-on-frame design of the R1, which is more truck-like and heavier.
