Rivian Automotive, Inc. RIVN plans to equip its first R2 vehicles with LiDAR and an internally developed RAP1 autonomy computer for employees by the end of 2026, while customer deliveries are expected to begin in 2027, per Electrek. This timeline could be viewed as a shift from the company’s earlier communications.
Rivian introduced its third-generation autonomy hardware, the RAP1 chip, last December. The system is rated at 1,600 sparse INT8 TOPS and is designed to work with LiDAR on the R2. At the time, Rivian said the technology would arrive in late 2026. However, the R2 launched in June without the new hardware. A production-ready-looking R2 equipped with LiDAR was later spotted near Rivian’s Irvine headquarters.
Per Rivian’s VP of Investor Relations Chip Newcom, production of the RAP1 system will initially be focused on the R2, with employees receiving the technology first. The company plans to install the third-generation computer and LiDAR in employee vehicles later this year before expanding the rollout to customers in 2027. Thus, Rivian’s late 2026 target remains technically intact, although it initially applies only to employees. The company has not specified when customer deliveries will begin in 2027. Per Rivian, the LiDAR and dual-RAP1 hardware are now included in automotive cost of goods and have become relatively inexpensive.
According to Rivian’s SVP of Autonomy & AI James Philbin, the rollout is expected to begin toward year-end, initially reaching early-adopter customers with R1 Gen 2 vehicles and later Gen 2 hardware revisions. This includes fleets Rivian classifies as Phase II and Phase III. The company aims to extend the technology across its full Autonomy+ fleet later next year, although certain use cases, such as parking lots, may not be supported in the initial version.
Latest Updates on Autonomous Mobility by Other Automakers
Lucid Group, Inc. LCID and Bolt, a leading European shared mobility platform, have entered into a strategic partnership to develop and launch autonomous mobility services across Europe. The collaboration will combine Lucid’s software-defined vehicle platform with Bolt’s European mobility data, operational infrastructure and industry expertise. As part of the partnership, Lucid and Bolt will jointly develop an autonomous driving system-ready vehicle platform designed to support SAE Level 4 autonomous mobility from the product-development stage.
Tesla, Inc. TSLA is also advancing its autonomous-driving efforts in Europe. France has begun testing two vehicles to further evaluate Tesla’s Full Self-Driving (“FSD”) advanced driver-assistance system. In April, the Netherlands’ road authority RDW provisionally approved Tesla’s FSD system for use on Dutch roads, prompting Belgium, Denmark, Estonia and Lithuania to take similar steps ahead of a potential bloc-wide vote on the system.
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