Rivian R2 Preview Locations - How to give feedback to Sales and Marketing

[GABarber]

I live in Irvine - minutes from Rivian's corporate office and have been on the R2 waiting list since April of 24.

Last year they had a demo R2 in Laguna where parking is impossible and traffic is insane. And you couldnt touch it, sit in it or even get close .

I hear that there is some preview event in Venice in early April - but again this could be as much as a 90 minute drive and like Laguna its jammed with traffic, has parking issues and particularly hard to get to from the freeway. So I wonder what genius picks these locations.

I wonder we ever going to have a private viewing for committed buyers down in orange county near the coporate offices where there lots of room and parking.

I don't see any particular way to get feedback to Sales and Marketing - so posting this here.

If they are in any way interesting in keeping the committed buyers engaged - they are certainly not working very hard at it.

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[lefkonj]

My guess would be no. Why would they do this? The vehicle is probably locked and loaded they are just going through the motions of building and testing them. Your feedback won't change anything right now. When the vehicle is available for the public to drive I am sure reservation holders will be contacted, like they did for the R1.

 

[the.phd]

If everyone with a day one preorder could have a car available with no lines, no wait, no crowds, no drive to be able to see, sit in, touch, lick, etc, they'd have none to sell. Be thankful its so close, others don't have any even in their state, let alone within less than a 2 hour drive.

 

[Mellowyellow]

I would click the share feedback button in the app

 

[Eric9610]

If you are serious about buying a launch model you will find a way to go see one if that's important to you. I saw the launch in Laguna then when they had them on display and now will go up to Venice, like I did for my R1 drive.

 

[kanundrum]

Or the entire East Coast that's not Miami or NYC like What the shit even at launch they ignored the same area

 

[Weekend at Gary’s]

Previous demo of R2 was probably more of a press release (need a sweet show in an awsome place) i.e. in Laguna.

Upcoming locations are probably strategically aligned with new major growth markets.

• Venice, CA: April 3 – 5
• Denver, CO: April 17 – 19
• Chicago, IL: April 24 – 26
• Long Island, NY: May 1 – 3
• Atlanta, GA: May 8 – 10
• Miami, FL: May 15 – 17
• Nashville, TN: May 22 – 24

Current R1 owners get priority (lots of them in Orange County, Seattle, Portland, Bend, etc.) likely will just buy R2 as soon as offered. If Rivian had no showings, events, or test drives these markets would still load up. Couldn’t even buy a Rivian in Washington (until now) without purchasing in Illinois and transferring (via power of attorney setup virtually, or driving out of state to sign papers in person). Still thousands jumped that hurdle.

Rivian wants to stir up interest in new major markets. Most future owners don’t have a reservation yet, many probably haven’t heard of Rivian. Rivian is pre-planting their adventurous/ unique / different design ideas into these markets…. Planning ahead for 2027/28…. Not worried about securing sales in “Spring” 2026.

 

[AlphaSnowbordergirl]

If everyone with a day one preorder could have a car available with no lines, no wait, no crowds, no drive to be able to see, sit in, touch, lick, etc, they'd have none to sell. Be thankful its so close, others don't have any even in their state, let alone within less than a 2 hour drive.

No joke, The closest one is 5-6 hour drive one way for me to see and have to cross 3 state borders. Insane since I am in one of the largest and most expensive areas in the country.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

Previous demo of R2 was probably more of a press release (need a sweet show in an awsome place) i.e. in Laguna.

Upcoming locations are probably strategically aligned with new major growth markets.

• Venice, CA: April 3 – 5
• Denver, CO: April 17 – 19
• Chicago, IL: April 24 – 26
• Long Island, NY: May 1 – 3
• Atlanta, GA: May 8 – 10
• Miami, FL: May 15 – 17
• Nashville, TN: May 22 – 24

Current R1 owners get priority (lots of them in Orange County, Seattle, Portland, Bend, etc.) likely will just buy R2 as soon as offered. If Rivian had no showings, events, or test drives these markets would still load up. Couldn’t even buy a Rivian in Washington (until now) without purchasing in Illinois and transferring (via power of attorney setup virtually, or driving out of state to sign papers in person). Still thousands jumped that hurdle.

Rivian wants to stir up interest in new major markets. Most future owners don’t have a reservation yet, many probably haven’t heard of Rivian. Rivian is pre-planting their adventurous/ unique / different design ideas into these markets…. Planning ahead for 2027/28…. Not worried about securing sales in “Spring” 2026.

It’s true. They want to go mass-market as quickly as possible. Fully ramped with the R2 by the end of 2027 and then exporting to Europe, I think by 2030 if not sooner. I hope the R3 doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It’s supposed to come out sometime in 2028.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

No joke, The closest one is 5-6 hour drive one way for me to see and have to cross 3 state borders. Insane since I am in one of the largest and most expensive areas in the country.

Same for me, over 5 hours just to look at an R2, sit in it, but not demo drive it. They’ll probably have demo drives in the Summer, which works out better for me anyway.

Columbus, Ohio would be a great location Rivian. I’m just saying…

“Columbus, Ohio is located within 600 miles of 60 percent of the U.S. population, which amounts to approximately 184.9 million people. This strategic location enhances its appeal for business and logistics.”

We have many headquarters in our area due to tax breaks and we’re often a test bed for future products given that we’re considered a microcosm of the country as a whole.

 

[VandalSibs]

It’s true. They want to go mass-market as quickly as possible. Fully ramped with the R2 by the end of 2027 and then exporting to Europe, I think by 2030 if not sooner. I hope the R3 doesn’t get lost in the shuffle. It’s supposed to come out sometime in 2028.

I don't see R3 getting lost amidst a push into the European market - it's a vehicle that's even better suited there due to it's smaller size (I know it's not that much smaller than the R2, but it's still smaller than R1!).

While they are going to be able to export to Europe once the Georgia factory is up and running (in theory), I don't see them doing a lot of sales on the continent until they have a factory over there. Just my two cents though.

 

[SwampNut]

they are certainly not working very hard at it.

They are.

 

[Just Passing By]

Fully ramped with the R2 by the end of 2027 and then exporting to Europe, I think by 2030 if not sooner.

IMO the clue regarding Europe timing is in who was invited to the early on-road/off-road drives in the R2. Apparently only 10 media channels/influencers/organizations were represented, of which three, CarWow, Top Gear (UK) and Car Magazine are UK media, no mainland European media were represented.

There's not much to be gained in inviting UK media this early, especially given the limited number of media slots provided, if the plan to export is as far out as 2030. Georgia is also probably at least 2 years away from when it might be in position to support R2 exports. This UK media exposure, along with at least a couple of RJ interviews with other UK media, suggests Rivian is setting itself up to at least have the option to export from Normal late in 2027. Exporting to the UK first is also a much more manageable proposition from a sales infrastructure, service support and even something as mundane as language perspective, versus jumping straight into mainland Europe; probably less likely to see any tariff shocks too.

Even if US demand pushes a European expansion back to 2028, then Normal would still make sense for the lower production runs for right hand drive markets, since its setup to support multiple different vehicle manufacture. Georgia might focus on the mass production of left hand drive vehicles for the the US, mainland Europe and elsewhere.

 

[Gen(R3)Xer]

IMO the clue regarding Europe timing is in who was invited to the early on-road/off-road drives in the R2. Apparently only 10 media channels/influencers/organizations were represented, of which three, CarWow, Top Gear (UK) and Car Magazine are UK media, no mainland European media were represented.

There's not much to be gained in inviting UK media this early, especially given the limited number of media slots provided, if the plan to export is as far out as 2030. Georgia is also probably at least 2 years away from when it might be in position to support R2 exports. This UK media exposure, along with at least a couple of RJ interviews with other UK media, suggests Rivian is setting itself up to at least have the option to export from Normal late in 2027. Exporting to the UK first is also a much more manageable proposition from a sales infrastructure, service support and even something as mundane as language perspective, versus jumping straight into mainland Europe; probably less likely to see any tariff shocks too.

Even if US demand pushes a European expansion back to 2028, then Normal would still make sense for the lower production runs for right hand drive markets, since its setup to support multiple different vehicle manufacture. Georgia might focus on the mass production of left hand drive vehicles for the the US, mainland Europe and elsewhere.

I applaud your optimism, but I don’t think they’re going to export from Normal, Illinois in 2027. Unless the R2 is a total sales failure in the US, which I do not imagine it will be.

IMO they need to get the R2 fully ramped in the US, which according to RJ will take 18 months or until the end of 2027. While this is happening they’ll be building the Georgia Plant, which could potentially be completed by early 2028. Then they’ll start producing the R2 there and hopefully the R3 will release by the end of 2028. It’s built on the same platform as the R2, so who knows.

Maybe they export to the UK by the end of 2028/early 2029, but I’d say that’s optimistic as well. These types of moves from a smaller company take a tremendous amount of time and money (billions of dollars and multiple years). If the R2 doesn’t sell well in the US building a plant in Europe with VW’s help and use of suppliers would make more sense. I don’t see this happening though. The Georgia Plant is the key to expanding in North America and Europe.

 

[mkg3]

I live in Irvine...

...I hear that there is some preview event in Venice in early April - but again this could be as much as a 90 minute drive and like Laguna its jammed with traffic, has parking issues and particularly hard to get to from the freeway. So I wonder what genius picks these locations.

Now that you've vented, try not to get worked up about things you have absolutely no control over. As the cliché goes - it is what it is.

My closest Rivian Space is the Laguna Beach theater location but I only go there on when there is a particular event that I am interested in, or during the week day.

I've been to Venice Space before I bought the R1S when it too was not readily available to view. The location is not great but it is midpoint between Malibu and San Clemente. I was actually surprised they didn't include San Diego and the Bay Area on the schedule.

I was at the Joshua Tree Outpost this past weekend and they told me that they are getting a demo drive R2 in July - and have 300 people signed up for it already.

If you don't want to buy the vehicle sight unseen or without test drive, just have to suffer through the 405 Southbay and go in mid to late afternoon and stay for dinner before hitting back home.

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