Rivian launched its R2 SUV in the U.S. on June 9, putting a cheaper model at the center of its next growth push. The new vehicle starts at $57,990, well below the company’s earlier R1T and R1S models, and Rivian is already planning a lower-priced version by the end of 2027.
That launch matters because Rivian stock trades nearly 80% below its IPO price of $78, leaving investors looking for proof that the company can turn product changes into real business gains. Leo Sun, who holds positions in Amazon, has pointed to the R2 as the model that could help Rivian move beyond the premium pricing that defined its first wave of vehicles.
When Rivian went public in 2021, it sold the R1T pickup, the R1S SUV, and custom electric delivery vans for Amazon and later other companies. The launch editions of the R1T and R1S started at $75,000 and $77,500, while later versions moved up to $85,000 to $95,000. The R2 is meant to widen the audience that Rivian can reach, while also improving the economics of each vehicle it sells.
That is the part investors will watch most closely. Rivian expects the R2 to lift annual deliveries to 62,000 to 67,000 vehicles this year, even though annual production fell from 57,232 vehicles in 2023 to 42,284 vehicles in 2025. A lower-priced model can help demand, but it has to arrive in enough volume to matter, and Rivian still has to show that it can reverse the pressure that has kept output down.
The market is already asking that question in hard numbers. Rivian stock traded at just three times this year's sales, and analysts expect revenue to more than triple from 2025 to 2028. That leaves the R2 launch carrying more weight than a standard product debut: it is the company’s clearest chance to prove that lower prices can bring in more buyers without crushing margins. If the cheaper R2 version arrives around $45,000 by the end of 2027, Rivian will have a second shot at broadening demand, but the real test starts now.
