Rivian Will Give You a Discount to Trade In a Gas Vehicle for a New R1 Model

Chris Teague
by Chris Teague

Rivian sells two compelling EVs that have garnered a good deal of happy customers, but they’re far from affordable. At around $70,000 to start, the brand’s R1T pickup and R1S SUV are out of reach for most buyers, even after the $3,750 federal tax credits for some models. The automaker is taking steps – small ones, to be fair – to make its vehicles more affordable, though, knocking up to $5,000 off some configurations. Oh, and you’ll have to trade in a gas vehicle to get the price cut.


Buyers who take delivery of a new Rivian before June 30 can get up to $3,000 off the R1T Standard + Pack, $4,000 off the R1T Large Pack, $5,000 off the R1T Max Pack, and $1,000 off the R1S Large Pack. Those sound like generous discounts, at least until you consider that the R1T Max Pack’s price tag easily crests the $100,000 mark.


Of course, discounts don’t usually come without terms attached, and Rivian is no exception. Any configurations not listed in that list are not eligible for discounts, and the vehicles must be bought or leased through the automaker’s online shop. You’ll still have to plop down a $1,000 non-refundable deposit to buy one, and the discounts are applied at the point of sale on the site.


Finally, only a handful of gas vehicles are eligible for the trade-in offer. The list includes:

·     Audi Q5, Q7, and Q8 from 2018 or after

·     BMW X3, X5, and X7 from 2018 or after

·     Ford F-150, Explorer, Expedition, and Bronco from 2018 or after

·     Jeep Grand Cherokee, Wrangler, and Gladiator from 2018 or after

·     Toyota Tacoma, Tundra, Highlander, and 4Runner from 2018 or after


Note that those vehicles are in direct competition with models Rivian sells, so the automaker clearly wants to draw traffic away from its ICE rivals. That said, it’s unclear how much the automaker will give you for your trade-in, so it would be wise to shop around a bit before signing for a new Rivian.


[Image: Rivian]


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Chris Teague
Chris Teague

Chris grew up in, under, and around cars, but took the long way around to becoming an automotive writer. After a career in technology consulting and a trip through business school, Chris began writing about the automotive industry as a way to reconnect with his passion and get behind the wheel of a new car every week. He focuses on taking complex industry stories and making them digestible by any reader. Just don’t expect him to stay away from high-mileage Porsches.

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  • Redapple2 HK: The Redapple is the TTAC resident HK hater. I have listed the reasons before. But, I am smart enough to keep my eyes open. I will say this. Overall, they have the best styling/design in autodum. I may not like certain models, but overall, they try. They try something new, different, fresh. Some models are great. Some so-so. But they are TRYING- All the time. Year after year. Other brands are locked into a firm theme - across multiple models and brands. Some lasting decades EX. Evil gm vampire Cadillac Arts and Science has been around for 22 years. Flawed fugly from the start. Never got better.
  • SCE to AUX This is the right direction for EVs, but I can't warm up to Kia's latest styling.This is bad news for Rivian, whose similarly-specced R3 isn't due until 2027 or something.Perhaps a low-spec version will start at $30k (maybe), but the 300-mile version with trimmings will certainly run closer to $50k. Then everyone will say Kia lied.
  • Buickman foolishness has no bounds, or borders.
  • JMII Wonder what the Hyundai version will look like because I am NOT a fan of this styling.Also someone needs to explain to H/K/G that you want the dark colored interior parts were you touch/sit and the lighter color parts elsewhere. For example the door panels here are dark with light armrests - this is backwards. Genesis made the same mistake in the GV60's white/ash (grey) interior. While I greatly appreciate something other then the dreaded black cave interior did they not consider how impossible this will be to keep clean in the real world?
  • JMII I see lots of ads for their CUVs but given the competition in this segment why would I buy an Outlander over a similar product from Toyota, Honda or Hyundai? Mitsubishi needs to offer something compelling, some hook or defining difference. I don't think I've encountered a single person who says "wow have you seen the new [blank] from Mitsubishi? I need to get me one of those".I owned a Mitsubishi Eclipse GS-T back in '96 and it was fun car. Mitsubishi once made interesting choices with a rally heritage - those cars were fast and pretty high tech at the time. Like Nissan they kind of fell into the we will finance anyone pool so other then an Evo as a track toy anyone I knew steered clear of them.
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