R.J. Scaringe, the CEO of American electric vehicle company Rivian, has taken aim at combustion powered vehicles, describing the purchase of one as “sort of like building a horse barn in 1910.”
Speaking with Robinson Meyer, founding executive editor of new climate and energy media company Heatmap, Scaringe was asked whether consumers will look electric for their next vehicle purchases.
Scaringe – whose net worth is estimated at $US1.7 billion and is CEO of one of the fastest growing EV companies in the world, was dismissive of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicle purchases moving forward.
“Like, imagine buying a Chevy Suburban in 2030,” asked Scaringe. “Like, what are you going to do with that, right? In 10 years? Yeah, like gas stations will be slowly disappearing. It’s just weird.”
In asking the question, Meyer led Scaringe to also acknowledge the issues of price, charging infrastructure, and vehicle types, but Scaringe nevertheless thinks that many customers are now at least asking the question, “Should I be thinking about electric?”
“That doesn’t mean they’re going to decide on electric,” Scaringe admitted, “either because of concerns around charging infrastructure or price, or the vehicle that they’re looking for doesn’t exist”.
“So like you may end up in a non-EV choice, because it doesn’t exist yet on the supply side. But everyone is asking the question. Or a lot of people are.
“And I think what will happen over the next 10 years is those questions today that may not get answered with something that leads to an electric vehicle purchase, that will change. The vehicle that I want, that form factor will be available in an electric offering. And the infrastructure is getting solved too.”
And while Scaringe admits that we are probably “one product cycle away” from EVs dominating peoples’ choices, the reality is that – for those who can afford the choice – an ICE vehicle purchase today is quickly going to become a stranded asset in your garage.
“You’re buying this thing that absolutely has no future in our society,” said Scaringe.
“And will just increasingly become more and more of a relic of the past. But I think the anticipation of that is leading people to say I don’t want to be buying a relic of the past.”
Scaringe expects to see this choice swing by the end of this decade, but until then, the biggest obstacle to electrification remains the lack of customer choice.
“Until recently, there were very, very few choices,” Scaringe explained.
“Even today, I’d say there are very few good choices, especially across all price bands. So if you want to spend $20,000, you just don’t have a good choice to make. You want to spend $35,000 or $40,000, there’s a couple of choices. But there’s still not a lot of choices. And we’ve seen that manifest in the extreme market share that Tesla has, because of the lack of choice from other manufacturers.”
As for the day when electric car prices will drop, Scaringe was unsure, given the impact of inflation on car prices.
But there has been shifts, big shifts, and in just the last year, according to Scaringe.
“If you’d told me just a few years ago that Europe would be committing to 100% of new vehicles being electric, you know, within the next 10 years. That California would be making that commitment in the same way. That the United States, through EPA regulations, is going to be 60% EV of new sales by 2030, I don’t think I would have believed it,” said Scaringe.
“It’s awesome to see that — literally the reason I started the company [Rivian] is to help drive and instigate that change.”
Joshua S. Hill is a Melbourne-based journalist who has been writing about climate change, clean technology, and electric vehicles for over 15 years. He has been reporting on electric vehicles and clean technologies for Renew Economy and The Driven since 2012. His preferred mode of transport is his feet.