Rivian’s CEO explains why China is leading the EV shift and how the US can catch up
China is dominating the global EV market, and according to Rivian’s (RIVN) CEO RJ Scaringe, this didn’t happen by accident. After squeezing global automakers out of their home market, Chinese EV makers are quickly expanding overseas. Scaringe explained why China is leading the shift and what the US can do to keep pace.
Rivian CEO explains why China is leading with EVs
During a recent fireside chat with Rishi Dhall, VP of NVIDIA’s automotive business, Scaringe pointed out that only 8% of new vehicle sales in the US last year were electric.
In comparison, EVs accounted for 45% of all car sales in China last year. That’s a massive difference. China is nearly six times ahead of the US in terms of EV adoption.
When asked about China’s innovation happening at “lightning speed” with new models, advanced battery tech, and much lower EV prices, Rivian’s CEO explained how companies in the US can learn from them.
One of the biggest reasons is the lack of options in the US. Scaringe says there are only “one of two great, high compelling choices” under $50,000. One of those is Tesla, with the Model Y and Model 3. This is evident from Tesla’s “extreme” market share over the past few years.
Although Tesla vehicles are great, there are still hundreds more choices for gas-powered cars, with different prices, brands, features, and more.
Scaringe says the US needs to offer many more EVs to keep up with China. Rivian currently sells the R1S SUV and R1T electric pickup, but these are flagship products that cost over $70,000 each and have a relatively small market.
What role will Rivian play?
Rivian’s next product, R2, “opens that up dramatically.” The midsize R2 SUV will start at around $45,000, or nearly half the R1S and R1T.
Scaringe explained that the R2 takes “the magic of what is a Rivian at that higher price and puts it into a slightly smaller package.”
Although Rivian’s CEO promises it’s the “coolest vehicle,” the US will need more than just that for it to keep pace. We need R2 to be successful, and we need another “10, 15, 20 other options” for EV penetration to really grow in the US.
After the difference in labor costs fades, Scaringe explained, what we are left with is how the vehicles compare in terms of features, content, and other tech advantages.
In the US, two companies, Rivian and Tesla, have “redefined the network architecture” with vertically integrated tech stacks. In China, many are doing it from the ground up.
Since many automakers in the West source sensors and computers from several suppliers, it is nearly impossible to get them to work in sync, let alone update.
To be competitive, “you have to have the plumbing right,” Scaringe said, referring to vertically integrating the technology. Rivian already has one major global OEM, Volkswagen, planning to use its software in its next-gen EVs. Rivian and VW launched a joint venture worth up to $5.8 billion in November.
In the meantime, Rivian is expanding its Normal, IL plant as it prepares to launch R2. The midsize platform is still on track to launch in 2026.
Once the upgrades are complete, Rivian will be able to produce around 215,000 vehicles annually, up from around 150,000. Once its new EV plant in Georgia is up and running, which is expected in 2028, Rivian expects to add another 400,000 units to its annual production capacity.
R2 is just the start for Rivian, with the R3 and tri-motor R3X launching shortly after. Rivian will sell the R2 overseas in places like Europe as it expands the brand globally.
Source: NVIDIA
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In a joint statement, French and German economists have called on governments to adopt “a common approach” to decarbonize European trucking fleets – and they’re calling for a focus on fully electric trucks, not hydrogen.
France and Germany are the two largest economies in the EU, and they share similar challenges when it comes to freight decarbonization. The two countries also share a border, and the traffic between the two nations generates major cross-border flows that create common externalities between the two countries.
At the same time, the EU’s transport sector has struggled to reduce emissions at the same rate as other industries – and road freight in particular is a major contributor to harmful carbon emissions issue due to that industry’s heavy reliance on diesel-powered trucks.
And for once, it seems like rail isn’t a viable option:
While rail remains competitive mainly for heavy, homogeneous goods over long distances. Most freight in Europe is indeed transported over distances of less than 200 km and involves consignment weights of up to 30 tonnes (GCEE, 2024) In most such cases, transportation by rail instead of truck is not possible or not competitive. Moreover, taking into account the goods currently transported in intermodal transport units over distances of more than 300 km, the modal shift potential from road to rail would be only 6% in Germany and less than 2% in France.
That leaves trucks – and, while numerous government incentives currently exist to promote the parallel development of both hydrogen and battery electric vehicle infrastructures, the study is clear in picking a winner.
“Policies should focus on battery-electric trucks (BET) as these represent the most mature and market-ready technology for road freight transport,” reads the the FGCEE statement. “Hence, to ramp-up usage of BET public funding should be used to accelerate the roll-out of fast-charging networks along major corridors and in private depots.”
The appeal was signed by the co-chair of the advisory body on the German side is the chairwoman of the German Council of Economic Experts, Monika Schnitzer. Camille Landais co-chairs the French side. On the German side, the appeal was signed by four of the five experts; Nuremberg-based energy economist Veronika Grimm (who also sits on the National Hydrogen Council, which is committed to promoting H2 trucks and filling stations) did not sign.
You can read an English version of the CAE FGCEE joint statement here.
Electrek’s Take
MAN Trucks’ CEO famously said that it was “impossible” for hydrogen to compete with BEVs, and even committed to building 200 hydrogen-powered semi truck to prove out that hypothesis.
He’s not alone. MAN’s board member for research and development, Frederik Zohm, said that the company is the one saying hydrogen still has years to go. “(MAN) continues to research fuel cell technology based on battery electrics,” he said, in a statement quoted by Hydrogen Insight, before another board member added that, “we (MAN) expect that, in the future, we will be able to best serve the vast majority of our customers’ transport applications with battery-electric trucks.”
With companies like Volvo and Renault and now Mercedes racking up millions of miles on their respective battery electric semi truck fleets, it’s no longer even close. EV is the way.
SOURCE | IMAGES: CAE FGCEE; via Electrive.
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GE Vernova has produced over half the turbines needed for SunZia Wind, which will be the largest wind farm in the Western Hemisphere when it comes online in 2026.
GE Vernova has manufactured enough turbines at its Pensacola, Florida, factory to supply over 1.2 gigawatts (GW) of the turbines needed for the $5 billion, 2.4 GW SunZia Wind, a project milestone. The wind farm will be sited in Lincoln, Torrance, and San Miguel counties in New Mexico.
At a ribbon-cutting event for Pensacola’s new customer experience center, GE Vernova CEO Scott Strazik noted that since 2023, the company has invested around $70 million in the Pensacola factory.
The Pensacola investments are part of the announcement GE Vernova made in January that it will invest nearly $600 million in its US factories and facilities over the next two years to help meet the surging electricity demands globally. GE Vernova says it’s expecting its investments to create more than 1,500 new US jobs.
Vic Abate, CEO of GE Vernova Wind, said, “Our dedicated employees in Pensacola are working to address increasing energy demands for the US. The workhorse turbines manufactured at this world-class factory are engineered for reliability and scalability, ensuring our customers can meet growing energy demand.”
SunZia Wind and Transmission will create US history’s largest clean energy infrastructure project.
Read more: The largest clean energy project in US history closes $11B, starts full construction
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