- Rivian is beefing up service before R2 lands, aiming to reduce service appointment wait times.
- It plans to add over 50 new service centers, more mobile vans, and more service technicians in 2026.
- R2 could be Rivian’s volume breakthrough, and its arrival will likely strain its existing service network.
Rivian anticipates a huge sales surge once it launches its more affordable model, the R2, and wants to scale up its service network to keep up. The company doesn’t want to dissappoint customers with long wait times, so it’s it’s not just relying on the service centers. Rivian is also expanding its fleet of mobile service vans while also increasing the number of services that they can do remotely.
It plans to add over 50 new service centers across the United States by the end of 2027, which will bring the total number to over 150 locations. Certain service locations in areas with a larger density of Rivian vehicles will have higher-capacity centers and the manufacturer plans to continue training more service specialists after adding over 1,000 more over the past year.
Remote diagnosis will remain a key part of the Rivian service process, so the manufacturer can determine whether a problem can be solved by sending a van instead of bringing the vehicle to a service center. The comapny already does a lot of mobile service for the R1. Rivian says the R2 is a software-defined vehicle, pointing to how “smart diagnostics allow our technicians to identify issues early, and in some cases, resolve them remotely via an over-the-air update. If you have to bring your vehicle in, having information earlier not only makes scheduling more efficient, it helps ensure we have parts in hand before you arrive.”
Scheduling an appointment can be handled through the mobile app and the manufacturer wants to make the service experience as seamless and fuss-free as possible. It’s an area where the company needs to improve. Some owners have already reported waiting months for an appointment, and then several more weeks after that to get their vehicle back. Rivian needs to lower wait times, and I hope this new expansion of the network is exactly what’s needed to achieve it. But with volume potentially scaling exponentially, it’s going to need a lot more hands to keep up.
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Source: Rivian
Service wait times do vary a lot based on location, and Rivian says it aims to better serve more remote areas with its expanded and enhanced service van fleet. With wait times down 35% last year, things seem to be headed in the right direction, although once the R2 lands, there will be extra pressure on the network. If there are initial issues or recalls—as there often are when any company launches an all-new platform—it’s not hard to imagine them getting overwhelmed.
Even if everything goes well, many new R2s will inevitably end up needing routine service. Tire rotations are always required, yearly inspections are important and some normal services like alignments will require a service-center visit.
Rivian plans to begin R2 production sometime this summer, with the first customer deliveries expected in the first part of the year. The plant in Normal, Illinois, has a planned year-one production run of up to 25,000 units, so that will be a significant volume jump for a manufacturer that built 42,284 vehicles in 2025. It predicts deliveries of up to 67,000 vehicles this year, a 59% jump over last year.
The R2 seems to have what it takes to woo buyers away from other similarly sized SUVs and crossovers, like the Tesla Model Y, which, while still a solid EV, is falling out of favor both in the U.S. and elsewhere. In a post-federal tax credit U.S., what will make or break the R2 will be its price.
It’s expected to start at around $45,000, which is considerably less than its larger brother, the R1S, currently priced from $76,990. It will become the manufacturer’s first true mass-market model, which will be joined by the smaller and even more affordable R3 arriving in 2028, followed later on by additional lower-cost models. Our first drive suggests the car is ready for prime time. Now, we have to see if the service network is, too.
