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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  • 28-Cars-Later "Inside EVs sent automotive journalist Kevin Williams to the Beijing Auto Show, and Williams walked away feeling like Chinese automakers are, generally speaking, building cars that could come to the States and immediately steal plenty of buyers from American, European, Japanese, and Korean automakers."I doubt this very much because: [list=1][*]Conventional drivetrains are not gonna fly and the Chinese are not going to pay to federalize whatever they're selling in Asia (or they would have by now).[/*][*]Until emissions rules for BEV are drawn up (and I'm sure top men are working on that now) it would be easier to resell BEV Asian market product in the US but you're mostly competing for Tesla owners/fans unless you come in and undercut everyone by 50% or more to grow the market. [/*][/list=1]BEV is not taking off folks, the 7% or so (roughly VWoA, Volvo, and Mazda's historic market share) isn't suddenly going to double or triple at current price to value. If PRC brands were to come in with new commuters at $14,995 and then nickle-and-dime for basic features (i.e. the RyanAir model) its a maybe but they won't. They'll come in 5% under the leaders for MSRP and then wonder why their dealer lots are ghost towns (I'm sure whatever dipsh!t dealer group opens a store for them will add ADM on like clowns too).
  • Kjhkjlhkjhkljh kljhjkhjklhkjh weird.. nobody wants to be a cop after cops get held accountable.. And no, this has nothing to do with the ''urban myth of defunding'', the funding reductions in this very article come from a reduction in crime during the pandemic (googlze)... and the voting ''people'' of Floridia not allowing funding increases in a vastly right leaning state, and desantis himself rejecting federal funding according to the googlze ... only top have desantis then TAKE covid relief funds from ARPA (also googlze) .. have fun .. wont be reading any replies since this will bring out all the conspiracy theories, secret cabals, gay mice and gay beer book burners
  • The Oracle Seems fruitless, Tesla’s German giga presses will be churning out front & rear chassis/body modules in no time, and in record numbers.
  • Jeff The Chinese automakers have come to other markets but I doubt they will be allowed in the US at least anytime soon. Most of the Chinese plants are newer and more automated than the US plants and they have learned how to build vehicles from the US and other automakers. Its a combination of Chinese Government support for their automakers and that Chinese automakers have improved their quality and have more automated and modern plants. US automakers and others are losing market share to Chinese automakers in the Chinese market.
  • Chris P Bacon I've only seen a few of them on the road so far. Do you think the transmission makes a difference? I'm not interested in anything with a CVT, so the base models are a no go, and the top model is just too pricey. Maybe as a certified pre-owned? My local dealer has a 23 Platinum AWD with 4k miles listed for $48k. Not that it's an issue for Toyota, but it's got 31 months of warranty left, plus another 12 month/12k miles. The dealer is including 4 years/50k miles service. If I were in the market, I'd take a look.
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