Sandy Munro, head of Michigan-based Munro & Associates talks about his review on Rivian R1T. According to Munro, Rivian could do some changes in some engineering and production to cut down its costs in manufacturing. Says that the electric pickup truck is “way underpriced”.
Munro & Associates is largely known for tearing down vehicles and advising automakers on possible improvements. The manufacturing expert, Sandy Munro is popular for his sometimes blunt assessments of Tesla vehicles. Munro is a former Ford manufacturing engineer. He says R1T has “buckets of cost reduction opportunity” – not unusual for a brand-new vehicle from a first-time manufacturer.
It is well known that Rivian is struggling with the manufacturing process. Despite users giving the vehicle a positive review, the deliveries are rather slow. Currently, the vehicle starts at $67,500, but Munro says it “should be selling for $100,000 — it’s way underpriced for what it is and what it does,” As Munro walks around the dismantled vehicle at Auburn Hills headquarters, he talks about the vehicle more.
In March it was known that there was a backlash for the company to increase vehicle prices. “Building in few build combinations reduces complexity with our suppliers and in the plant and allows us to build a greater number of vehicles,” Rivian told customers in an email in March. Rivian’s delivery headaches have not drawn the same attention as the California company’s slashed production plans or its messy communication of vehicle price increases. Which it first announced across the board, but later scrapped for existing reservation holders following backlash.
The automaker continues to endure such circumstances, by also having challenges with supply chain issues. Further raising the vehicle price would be a challenge considering that the company is still new and new to ramp up its deliveries.
Profitable price
According to the CEO of Rivian, Peter Rawlinson, the vehicle should be priced at $95,000 to be profitable for the company. He said that in March when the company increased the electric pickup price. Like its chief competitor, the Ford F-150 Lightning, Rivian’s new pickup features a body-on-frame design, but the R1T’s bed and cabin are all one piece, unlike the F-150. The Lightning is priced from $40,000 to more than $100,000.
“It’s designed and built quite differently from traditional full-size pickups,” says Ben Lindamood, a Munro director. “The build quality still isn’t as good as vehicles from more established brands, which is not dissimilar from the early Teslas” torn down in Munro’s shop. Munro likes some of the thoughtful touches on the R1T, including a cleverly hinged tailgate, a power tonneau cover, and a large under-bed storage compartment just behind the cabin.
