Tesla Rival, Rivian, To Offer Subscription Plan For Electric Truck

From online streaming, personal grooming, grocery delivery, and now cars -- subscriptions are slowly taking over every industry. And the latest to join automakers in the vehicle subscription scheme is Rivian.

Speaking at Cox Automotive, CEO RJ Scaringe said Rivian is developing vehicles that will cater to the luxury sector and is looking at charging a monthly fee for its electric vehicles (EV). With a subscription model, Rivian customers can access a range of vehicles.

"You may use one solution to get to and from the office during the week. But on the weekend, you may want a subscription program," Scaringe said.

With a subscription package, Rivian is essentially moving away from conventional dealerships, which has, according to Automotive News, always been their plan. Their electric trucks with the subscription model are planned to be set in motion by 2020.

Vehicle subscriptions started picking up steam in 2017 when big-name automakers like Porsche, Volvo, and Ford began offering them to the public.

With Porsche Passport, Porsche's subscription program, members with a flat fee plan of $2,100 can access eight different models. A much more expensive plan at $3,100 can get members to access twelve higher-performing model variants. And, the vehicle swaps between models are unlimited.

Other startups like Canoo are also jumping on the bandwagon with a subscription plan of their own for their van-type EVs but has not disclosed what their pricing will be.

In September, Cox Automotive invested $350 million into Rivian, but Scaringe maintained that Rivian will still be an independent company and that the partnership will be to team up on retailing, logistics, and operations.

"As part of this, we are excited to work with Cox Automotive in delivering a consistent customer experience across our various touchpoints. Cox Automotive’s global footprint, service and logistics capabilities, and retail technology platform make them a great partner for us.”

In the same month, Amazon ordered 100,000 electric delivery vans from Rivian with Jeff Bezos expecting prototypes by 2020 and the first vans to be on the road by 2021.

The two vehicles that Rivian has unveiled so far is the R1T pickup truck and R1S SUV with starting prices of around $70,000.