Undeniably, pickup trucks continue to dominate vehicle sales in the United States. At the same time, electric vehicles are becoming more mainstream, with Tesla EVs leading the way.
Acknowledging this, automakers started offering or unveiling their EV trucks, with Rivian introducing the R1T five years ago. Now that small pickup trucks are becoming a trend, another Rivian offering could kick-start the small EV truck revolution – the R2T.
Official information about Rivian’s future offering is quite scarce. But that doesn’t mean that the new small EV truck won’t come. After all, the car brand is now selling the most satisfying EV to own -- the Rivian R1T -- even though it is having some hiccups over its production rate.
Sure enough, the R2T is one of Rivian’s new EVs that would ride on the automaker's new platform. There have been speculations over the timing of its possible unveiling and market arrival, but nothing is sure until Rivian finally reveals every little detail of the R2T small EV truck.
Depending on that timing, the Rivian R2T could officially launch small pickup trucks into the realm of EVs.
Pickup Trucks Continue to Lead U.S. Vehicle Sales
It may come as a surprise to some people that pickup trucks are the best-selling vehicles in the U.S. But numbers don’t lie, as pickup trucks continue to lead vehicle sales in the country, both in full-year 2022 and in the first six months of 2023, according to GoodCarBadCar.
This is quite a hard pill to swallow for other vehicle types such as SUVs and sedans, but with their larger builds and greater utility, pickup trucks are American favorites.
The Ford F-Series remained the best-selling vehicle in the U.S., selling over 652,000 units in 2022. Just behind were the Chevrolet Silverado (520,000) and the Ram Pickup (468,000). In fourth place was the Toyota RAV4 crossover, with sales of just 366,000.
In the first half of 2023, meanwhile, the F-Series, Silverado, and Ram Pickup retained their rankings. The RAV4, however, slid to fifth but was just a few thousand units behind the new fourth placer, the Tesla Model Y electric crossover.
Interestingly, though, smaller pickups such as the Ford Maverick and Hyundai Santa Cruz are doing very well in the first six months of 2023, with sales increasing year-on-year. Due to the high demand for these small pickup trucks, some automakers like Toyota are even planning to introduce their own offering.
Rivian R1T Started Pickup Trucks’ EV Revolution
The high demand for pickup trucks has been – more or less – consistent not just in the past few years, but in the past few decades. Thus, when the EV revolution started in the last decade, some saw it inevitable that automakers would offer electric pickup trucks.
Initially, there was apprehension, as no one had built and sold an EV truck before.
While Tesla Motors essentially contributed a lot to making modern EVs enter the mainstream, it wasn’t the first one to reveal and launch the first EV pickup truck. In fact, Tesla has yet to launch its over-hyped futuristic-looking Cybertruck.
Rivian, Ford, GM (via GMC), and Lordstown all managed to beat Elon Musk to the market. Among these automotive brands, it was Rivian that first embarrassed gas-guzzling trucks with the R1T.
Rivian announced the R1T (as the Rivian) A1T in May 2018 and started production in September 2021. The R1T has an SUV twin in the guise of the R1S, with both vehicles sitting on the same platform.
Customers wanted it for its off-road capability, ample cargo capacity, and potent powertrain that allows it to sprint from 0 to 60 mph in just 3.0 seconds.
Other Automakers Joins The EV Truck Melee
Probably fazed that a newcomer beat them to the EV pickup truck game, Tesla unveiled the Cybertruck in November 2019. However, customers are still waiting for their deliveries.
Lately, a camouflaged Cybertruck roaming the streets for road testing was making rounds in social media. Tesla has made production promises but has yet to fulfill them.
Startup Lordstown, meanwhile, announced the Endurance in December 2019 and only commenced production in September 2022. It has limited production to just 500 units, virtually halting it in June.
Industry veteran GM revealed the GMC Hummer EV truck in October 2020, reviving the highly touted gas-guzzling vehicle as an environment-friendly monster. GM started production of the Hummer EV in November 2021. Ford, meanwhile, announced the F-150 Lightning in May 2021 and starting production in April 2022.
There are other announced EV pickup trucks in the pipeline, including the Chevrolet Silverado EV, GMC Sierra EV, and the RAM 1500 Rev.
Small Pickup Trucks Gaining Traction In The Market
While small or compact pickup trucks have been in the U.S. in the past decades, most of them have grown into mid-size trucks. Customers who wanted pickup trucks smaller than the Ford F-150, Chevrolet Silverado, and Toyota Tundra could opt for the mid-size Ranger, Colorado, and Tacoma. A few years ago, no one was tapping the market for small pickup trucks.
Currently, the only true small pickup trucks in the country are the Hyundai Santa Cruz and the Ford Maverick. Hyundai announced the Santa Cruz in April 2021 and commenced production in June. Ford revealed the Maverick in June 2021, immediately racking up 100,000 reservations. The company started production in September. Interestingly, both small trucks sit on a unibody chassis that typically underpins SUVs.
In terms of sales, Hyundai sold around 36,000 Santa Cruz in 2022, and around 20,000 in the first six months. But it pales against the Maverick. The full-year 2022 sales amounted to 74,000 units and first-half 2023 sales reached 42,000.
With these small trucks posting strong sales, other automakers are likely to follow. Toyota, Subaru, and RAM could possibly offer Stout, Baja, and Dakota small pickups to their lineups, respectively.
Rivian’s R2T Small EV Truck Could Start Another Revolution
Interestingly, Rivian has a live trademark application for the R2T and R2S names at the U.S. Patent Office, among several other filings. Following Rivian’s current naming scheme, the R2T and R2S will be a pickup truck and SUV, respectively. Since the R1T is essentially a mid-size electric pickup, it’s safe to assume that the R2T would be a small EV truck.
But the R2T might not come soon. After all, Rivian is still struggling to ramp up its production, with several automakers suffering from supply chain disruptions. Nevertheless, the EV brand is steadily improving its production rate, as it will soon start construction of its new plant in Georgia.
Rivian may unveil the R2S first, and then the R2T in 2024. It might commence production and deliveries of the truck in 2026. Once that happens and if Rivian outsmarts its rivals, the R2T could start the small EV truck revolution. Consumers looking for small pickup trucks but with the EV twist could flock to the R2T.
Just like what happened following the unveiling of the R1T, the R2T might prompt players in the small pickup segment to make their move. Ford has already trademarked the Maverick Lightning and Ranger Lightning, and it could transfer the technology from the F-150 Lightning.
Ars Technica reported seeing a GM design study for a small EV truck, and the automaker could realize it, as it already has the capability to do so.
Source: Rivian, Ford, Automotive News, GoodCarBadCar, Ars Technica